Dedicated to Helping Sexual Abuse Survivors
The Sexual Abuse Nursing Examiner (SANE) program at Southeastern Med is an important, specialized segment of our emergency and trauma services, offering help to sexual abuse survivors of any age.
We wish a program like this wouldn’t be necessary, but so long as it is, we remain dedicated to helping survivors in any way we can. The SANE program includes a staff of nurses who have unique training and experience working with victims of sexual abuse. We also work alongside law enforcement and other local organizations to provide as much support and assistance as possible.
Services in the SANE Program include:
- Taking a history
- Completing a physical head to toe examination
- Collection of any evidence
- Documentation of injuries, both on paper and photographic. We have a special camera system, Cortexflo, that can magnify images with high resolution detail for clearer assessment.
- Ability to testify in court to educate the judge and jury
- We follow legal mandates for reporting to law enforcement and Child Protective Services, but also help patients and family understand that we are not interested in pointing fingers, just caring for the patient’s needs
- Connect the patient with Advocates from Haven of Hope, who can support survivors through law enforcement interviews and court proceedings, while also helping with protection orders and filing for compensation
- Provide referrals with counseling so survivors can have their feelings and opinions heard, reinforcing a sense of strength and a positive self image
