Reprinted from The System Link, Washington County Hospital Employee Newsletter

In April 2007, there were thirteen victims of sexual abuse and child abuse who were brought to Washington County Hospital, a startling number considering that is almost one person every other day.

However, a group of Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) nurses at Washington County Hospital are working to do their part to get sexual and child predators off the streets by collecting evidence to help identify and prosecute offenders.

The seven forensic nurse examiners in the SAFE program are on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to respond to sexual and child abuse cases.  Since time is of the essence for evidence collection, these women drop everything when their pager goes off and respond to the hospital within an hour—no small feat given that most of the group live outside of Washington County.

Once they arrive, they spend the next three to four hours with the patient, performing an examination and collecting evidence.  During the exams, some of which are done in teams of two, they document their findings in three ways (written, drawn, and photographed), all of which are admissible evidence. There are many times that the SAFE nurses are called upon to act as expert witnesses in court and must refer to the evidence collected.

They spend between 1,200 and 1,500 hours each per year for the SAFE program, which is in addition to their regular full-time nursing jobs at the hospital.

Part of that time includes continuing education to meet the requirements for yearly renewal of their Forensic Nurse Examiner certifications.  They also attend multidisciplinary team meetings with representatives from the police department, CASA, child protective services, the Child Advocacy Center and the state’s attorney’s office where they review cases, processes, and outcomes.

Pamela Holtzinger, RN, FNE, the SAFE program coordinator, said that the group has been contacted by other hospitals to help them set up a similar SAFE program.  They have also examined pediatric patients who have been transferred from other hospitals where child abuse programs are not in place.

Pam said that she is passionate about the SAFE program because she sees it as an “investment in the future.”  The SAFE nurses can not only help catch criminals who may otherwise be repeat offenders, but can also help patients start to heal.