Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Advanced Nursing Education - Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program - Address: 340 W. Tenth Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202 Project Director Name: Barbra Bachmeier, JD, MSN, APRN, NP-C, DF-AFN, FAEN. Contact Numbers: 317-840-1145 Email Address: grantsadministration@iuhealth.org Website Address: iuhealth.org Grant Program Funds Requested: $1,393,410 Indiana University (IU) Health, in collaboration with the IU School of Nursing, proposes the “IU Health and IU School of Nursing Academic-Practice Partnership for Forensic Nursing Training, Practice, and Retention” to increase the supply, distribution, and quality of the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) workforce throughout the state of Indiana. One in five women in Indiana have been sexually assaulted, and the state ranks the 4th highest in the nation for the number of reported rapes among high school girls. In addition, the United Health Foundation ranked Indiana 41st out of 50 in the nation for Community and Family Safety in 2021, with an overall violent crime rate of 371, defined as 371 murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults per 100,000 population. Moreover, Indiana ranks among the highest in the nation for child abuse and neglect reports. The IU Health Methodist Center of Hope—the lead entity for this project—is the busiest forensic nursing practice in the state. As a Level I Trauma Center, IU Health Methodist receives a high volume of sexual assault and domestic violence cases, many of which also involve stabbings and strangulations. The COH had 2,053 patient encounters in 2023, up from 1,710 in 2022 followed by steady increases in prior years. The ultimate goal of this workforce training project is to ensure access to timely forensic examinations and physical, mental, and legal care for all survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Indiana. To reach this goal, IU Health and the IU School of Nursing will: • Provide 40-hour didactic SANE training to qualified and interested nurses at least three times per year to increase access to medical forensic exams for adult/adolescent and pediatric survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Indiana • Provide one-on-one preceptorship through an up-to-60-hour fellowship for new SANEs and up to 20 hours for experienced SANEs seeking more training. • Offer a variety of evidence-based continuing education opportunities on an ongoing basis to enable SANE trained nurses to maintain and advance their skills and competencies. • Provide financial support for nurses to attend didactic, clinical trainings and continuing education opportunities • Offer onsite competency assessments and case reviews for SANEs across the state to validate and improve their clinical assessment, documentation, and photography competencies. • Build a community of forensic nursing practice among SANEs in Indiana for peer support and sharing of best practices through networking and mentorship. • Foster resiliency and retention among the SANE workforce through resilience coaching by a forensic nursing expert who is certified as a health and wellbeing coach. The target population for the proposed project is approximately 300 forensic nurses and nursing students across Indiana over the three year grant period. Targeted trainees include RNs and APRNs currently in practice with a valid nursing license in the state of Indiana and students enrolled in a graduate nursing program. The project team will recruit participants through their respective institutional networks (IU Health and IU School of Nursing) and through partnerships with the Indiana Emergency Nurses Association, Indiana State Nurses Association, and Indiana Rural Health Association. IU Health requests a statutory funding preference for substantially benefiting rural populations (Qualification 1) and underserved populations (Qualification 2).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).