{"id":1668,"date":"2023-08-10T13:50:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T23:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2023-08-30T14:41:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T00:41:48","slug":"sane-four-letters-one-awe-inspiring-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/sane-four-letters-one-awe-inspiring-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"SANE: Four letters, one awe-inspiring calling"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1671\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1671\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1671\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-500x375.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SANE-nurse-training-July-2023.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1671\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rrecruits at a YWCA SANE training in July. Left to right: Molly Palmer, RN, SANE trainer (in red), Kari Wheeling, APRN, Sunny Chen, RN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">YWCA\u2019s Sexual Assault Support Services program is our island\u2019s main source of crisis intervention, care, advocacy and healing for victims and survivors of sexual assault. It is Hawaii County\u2019s only dedicated 24-7 crisis line and safety net for all victims of sexual assault regardless of age or gender. SASS even extends it services to others affected, such as victims\u2019 parents or significant others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">One of the most crucial elements of Sexual Assault Support Services is our SANE program. SANE stands for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. YWCA recruits, trains and manages the island\u2019s only team of SANE nurses doing this critical work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">These highly specialized registered nurses have dedicated 80 hours of their own time to participate in classes, clinical trainings and meetings, enabling them to conduct sexual assault medical forensic examinations on both adults and children. The job is not full-time but it is intense, and can take 2-6 hours per incident.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">In July we sat in on a SANE training at YWCA headquarters, where a seasoned SANE nurse trainer walked three new recruits through the elements of a comprehensive medical forensic exam:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Obtaining the medical forensic history<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Conducting the physical assessment<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Providing support and crisis intervention<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Assessing pregnancy risk<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Documenting of examination findings<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Collecting, preserving and ensuring safe delivery of evidence to police<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Interpreting examination findings<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Offering treatment options<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Providing follow-up referrals for medical and emotional needs<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Presenting expert witness testimony in the courtroom if case goes to trial<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">The trainer explained the Secure Digital Forensic Imaging (SDFI) system, an $18,000 piece of camera equipment that encrypts images into unalterable files and can even detect bruising beneath the skin, not visible to the naked eye. This is particularly important in identifying evidence of strangulation, which elevates the assault to a life-and-death situation and affects prosecution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">In plain terms, the trainer covered aspects of a pediatric SANE exam. Parents generally are not in the room at the time of the exam (though a SASS advocate is always present). SANE nurses help the child victim stay calm and regain a sense of control by, for instance, letting them initiate their own photos by pushing the button on the camera\u2019s remote shutter. Internal genitalia is not examined or photographed in pre-menstrual girls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">On the west side of the island, exams are conducted in a dedicated room at the Kona Community Hospital. On the east side, Hilo Medical Center lacks space for a dedicated room, so a mobile SANE cart is wheeled to whatever space is available at the time of the exam. Documentation is meticulous, including full body photos as well as images of external and internal genitalia. Suspects are also examined, either at the holding cell in Kona or at the detention center in Hilo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">SANE nurses must stay impartial, so they cannot tell victims or family what they find. They must ensure an unbroken chain of custody for all evidence, and be ready to testify in court as to their findings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">It\u2019s a monumental task. But the need is great, and those who answer the call possess a rare level of dedication and compassion. Sunny Chen, an RN with the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition who took part in the July training, said simply, \u201cWe are the gap-fillers for our community.\u201d Sexual assault is a difficult reality, one that many would prefer to pretend did not exist in our community. The system is held together by sheer will, and these women are nothing short of amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Do you have what it takes to be a SANE nurse? We need you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Contact: Lisa Williams<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"wpex-text-md\">SASS\/SANE Program Director<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"wpex-text-md\">YWCA of Hawaii Island<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"wpex-text-md\">145 Ululani St., Hilo, HI 96720<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Phone: 808-854-0322<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"wpex-text-md\">Email: lwilliams@ywcahawaiiisland.org<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>YWCA\u2019s Sexual Assault Support Services program is our island\u2019s main source of crisis intervention, care, advocacy and healing for victims and survivors of sexual assault. It is Hawaii County\u2019s only&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}