Monday, December 30, 2024
12/30/2024
Rush University Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine 1653 West Congress Pkwy Project Director: Anna Candoleza Muglia Phone: 312 947 0778 Email: Anna_Candoleza@rush.edu Sexual assault and interpersonal violence have been prevalent problems claiming multiple victims. Illinois recently introduced a requirement that every survivor of sexual assault needs to be seen by a Qualified Medical Provider (QMP), defined as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), or a SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner), which is a physician or physician assistant who has undergone training equivalent to that of a SANE. The QMP must be available within 90 minutes of survivor’s arrival to the emergency room 24/7. There is a significant shortage of SANEs statewide, especially in low resource hospitals. Survivors frequently must be transferred for a medical forensic exam, which makes their experience even more difficult. According to data collected by the Illinois Department of Public Health, approximately 40% of all Illinois sexual assaults patients are seen in emergency departments in Cook County, where Chicago is located. It is clear that there is a very large need in this area that must be filled. Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) is located in the heart of Chicago’s Illinois Medical District and is surrounded by several safety net hospitals. RUMC’s patient population includes a large percentage of patients from low socioeconomic zip codes and is comprised of almost 70% minorities. This breakdown is also reflected in our survivor population. RUMC has a well-functioning SANE program, but still has difficulty providing 24/7 care. We are fortunate to have all the resources of a large academic institution, including a nursing school, medical school, multiple medical residency programs, a large simulation lab, and a wide net of social and community workers. If provided the funding, we could become a training site for the entire Southwest side of Chicag o and provide free training to increase the number of SANEs in the area. The project consists of two parts. The first part would include investment in our SANE program to provide 24/7 care and train clinical preceptors for SANE trainees. The second part would be to train 40 nurses per year (32 adult adolescent and 8 pediatric), mostly coming from surrounding Cook County hospitals. We would use the grant funds to provide the 40 hours foundation training followed by clinical training supported by clinical preceptors, who the trainees would be paired up with for every exam. Every trainee would have a mentor with whom they would discuss and peer review every case. Prior to participating in the medical forensic exams, the trainees would have learned the anogenital exam on standardized patients and have ample practice opportunities with the pelvic exam simulator in the lab. Their training would also be supplemented by sessions with standardized patients where they would practice trauma informed interview and gender affirmation skills. Program didactics include quarterly half day conferences, which trainee could attend even after the completion of the program. Grant funds would also give them an opportunity to experience membership in two forensic nursing organizations, giving more exposure to education, research, and current updates. Twenty trainees per year would attend a national conference. This funding would enable us to train 120 SANEs over the next 3 years. This increase would make a significant difference in Cook County hospitals. Increasing the number of SANEs would enable hospitals to care for survivors, prevent transfers, decrease burden on survivors, and provide better care to this vulnerable population.
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).