December 6, 2004
Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.
recently announced the addition of the University Medical Center at Princeton to
Mercer County’s SART/SANE program.
The Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiner/Sexual Assault Response Team (SART/SANE) program was implemented in
Mercer County in July 2002. At that
time, three county hospitals were designated as SART/SANE sites:
Capital Health System - Fuld Campus, Capital Health System - Mercer
Campus and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton.
In
November, the University Medical Center at Princeton became the county’s
fourth site.
Prosecutor
Bocchini praised the program and applauded Princeton’s addition.
“The SART/SANE has been a tremendous asset here in Mercer County.
With its victim-centered approach and highly trained members, the SART
team is able to provide medical care and counseling to the victim while allowing
law enforcement to obtain the necessary evidence to investigate, arrest and
prosecute the offender,” he stated. “The
addition of Princeton strengthens the program and gives victims of sexual
assault more choices.”
The
Sexual Assault Response Team is made up of specially trained individuals who
respond together to help the victim through the aftermath of a sexual assault.
SART services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
A sexual assault victim may choose to go to any of the four SART hospitals in Mercer County. The specially trained sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) conducts the entire forensic examination and evidence collection at the hospital and also offers medications to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and pregnancy related to the assault. Victims are not billed for the exam or the medications and do not have to make a decision to involve law enforcement at the time of the exam. Victims have 90 days to decide whether to prosecute.
The
SART uses a team approach in providing compassionate, comprehensive medical
care, emotional support, information, assistance, evidence collection and
investigation of the incident. In
addition to the sexual assault nurse examiner, SART members include a rape care
advocate who provides emotional support for victims, information about
reporting, treatment and counseling options, and is available to accompany the
victim during medical, legal and court procedures, and a law enforcement officer
who has received specialized training in the area of sexual assault
investigations and working with sexual assault victims.
For
more information about SART and/or sexual assault services in Mercer County,
call Womanspace’s 24-hour hotline at (609) 394-9000.
Registered nurses interested in becoming a SANE, please call Alice Lloyd, SART/SANE program coordinator, at (609) 278-4880.