Every 68 seconds, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes, that victim is a child.
Alarming data that changes the course of one’s life in a matter of moments.
Union Health is proud to provide a comprehensive, high-quality SANE program, or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, that provides care and community awareness for those who have experienced sexual violence and/or sexual abuse.
Union Hospital Terre Haute has nine adult SANEs and three pediatric SANEs. Union Hospital Clinton has two adult and pediatric SANEs on staff.
“Our mission is to provide informed, compassionate SANE care where our patients and families feel valued, heard and supported,” Sonya Sampson, SANE, said. “We want to put an end to the suffering in silence of our sexual assault/domestic violence patients.”
The SANE program provides forensic medical exams for children and adults that integrate a team center holistic approach including pharmacy, radiology, laboratory, case management and financial support for the cost of treatment, along with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, CODA and local law enforcement.
No sexual violence case is the same. There are multiple forms of sexual crimes, including:
- Exposing One’s Genitals or Naked Body to Others Without Consent;
- Nonconsensual Image Sharing;
- Rape or Sexual Assault;
- Sexual Abuse;
- Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking;
- Sexual Harassment;
- Unwanted Sexual Contact/Touching;
- Words & Actions of a Sexual Nature Against a Person’s Will & Without Their Consent
To improve our living conditions across the Wabash Valley, we must address the social and structural determinants of health. Living in a connected community is the key to promoting health, safety and well-being, and we must make choices that reflect this. Building connected communities is a mandatory step to achieving health equity, ensuring everyone has an equal chance to attain their best possible health. This approach creates a fair and just opportunity for all to reach their highest level of well-being, and we must embrace it confidently.
“The hardest part of being a SANE nurse is seeing the pain and suffering endured by this population while using those exact emotions to motivate our commitment to excellence, advocacy and justice for each victim,” Sampson said.
The SANE program at Union Health is driven by dedicated nurses who chose to complete additional training, continually educate themselves and collaborate with the local SART Committee—consisting of law enforcement, prosecutor’s office, local colleges sexual assault advocates and CODA—all for the greater good of our patients.
- More than half of women and almost one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.
- One in four women and roughly one in 26 men have experienced completed or attempted rape.
- One in three female victims and one in four male victims of completed or attempted rape experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17.
- More than half of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and nearly 40% by an acquaintance.
- The prevalence of false reporting for sexual assault crimes is low – between 2% and 10%.
While those statistics are staggering, it’s important to remember there are faces behind each number; real humans who have suffered and endured the unthinkable.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, SPEAK UP. DON’T STAY SILENT. Union Hospital Terre Haute and Union Hospital Clinton are the only two health care facilities in the Wabash Valley with SANE nurses actively trained in providing sexual assault examinations and forensic collection - ready to advocate for you in your time of need.
Union Hospital Terre Haute Emergency Room
1606 N. 7th St.
Terre Haute, IN 47804
Union Hospital Clinton Emergency Room
801 S. Main St.
Clinton, Indiana 47842