Chicago nurse wants to raise awareness about shortage of sexual assault examiners – NBC Chicago

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a local nurse is raising the alarm about a critical lack of support for survivors.

Jeana Friday is a forensic nurse, a specialty that requires at least a registered nurse license.

These nurses provide compassionate medical care to survivors of domestic or sexual assault while collecting evidence that can be used in criminal proceedings.

“We can conduct sexual assault investigations. We can do forensic photography. We can do strangulation investigations,” Friday said.

According to its voluntary database, the International Association of Forensic Nurses has found that only about 25% of hospitals in the U.S. have a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) on staff or available.

“There are actually a growing number of us, but there are still not enough,” Friday said. Friday will rotate between six hospitals in the Chicago area for her position.

Illinois hospitals are required by law to have a SANE staff or an approved transfer plan at no cost to the patient.

According to a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois has one of the strictest and most comprehensive Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act (SASETA) in the country.

Illinois law requires SASETA treatment hospitals to have a 24-hour trained medical examiner and other medical personnel specifically trained to provide the best possible care for victims of sexual assault. It also provides for the provision of trained, trauma-informed sexual assault treatment providers who can address both the medical and emotional needs of a victim, with the aim of preventing further distress to the victim.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, all hospitals in Illinois have submitted SASETA plans and the SASETA database indicates the approval date of each plan.

However, many patients still don’t know where they can get help, it was said on Friday.

“The victim blaming is huge and actually leads to people not disclosing or just being afraid that people won’t believe them,” she said. “They need us to know what to do. They need us to be there for them, they need us to start with faith.”

Speaking to a group of students at Chamberlain University in Roscoe Village, Friday hopes to encourage the next generation of forensic nurses.

“Not many people know about forensic nursing because there are so few staff,” nursing student Sam Morales said.

Morales, who was inspired to become a nurse by the language barrier her grandparents experienced in hospitals as a child, said even if her classmates weren’t interested in forensic nursing, just talking about the specialty can encourage others to get involved engage.

“They can share it with their friends, who can share it with other friends. It continues to spread by word of mouth. There will always be a need for nurses,” Morales said.