St. Claire HealthCare Receives SANE Designation From Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Earlier this summer, St. Claire HealthCare (SCH) received recognition as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) ready hospital, one of only 14 hospitals in Kentucky. To be SANE-ready, acute care hospitals certify annually that a SANE nurse is available on-call twenty-four hours a day for the examination of victims of sexual offenses who are seeking treatment.

“SANE nurses are nationally recognized as forensic nurses specialized in victim advocacy, trauma-informed care, expert witness testimony, and gathering evidence for the SANE kit,” said Lara Patterson, BSN, RN, SANE, SCH’s Sexual Assault Program Coordinator. “From Sunday to Saturday, midnight to midnight, there is a SANE nurse on call and we are able to provide the one-on-one care that our patients need.”

St. Claire HealthCare is proud to have four registered nurses to provide this specialized care in a safe environment during such a vulnerable time.

“It was important to me to get as many nurses as we could to become certified and provide this care to patients,” said Patterson. “Being a SANE nurse is my passion and having St. Claire be a SANE-ready designated location is important, especially in a college town, allowing patients to have this care available when they need it.”

To learn more about the SANE-ready program, visit the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) at www.kasap.org.

Pictured (L-R): Amy Amburgey, APRN, SANE; Rebecca Parker, BSN, RN, SANE; Halee Edison, RN, SANE; Lara Patterson, BSN, RN, SANE, SCH Sexual Assualt Program Coordinator.