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Areas We Serve
Emergency Shelter
Outreach Counseling
Courthouse Program
Rape Crisis Program
Children's Program
Community Education
Refuge House, Inc.
P.O. Box 20910
Tallahassee, FL 32316
Administration Phone
850.922.6062
Email
ccrump@refugehouse.com
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S.A.N.E. Program
Questions & Answers
What's The Purpose?
The purpose of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program at Refuge House stem directly from our mission "To provide direct services to battered women, their children and sexual assault survivors, as well as to work to eliminate the conditions in society that allow such violence to continue". The purpose of the SANE Program is to actualize this mission by meeting the needs of sexual assault survivors through providing immediate, compassionate, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive forensic evidence collection and treatment by trained, professional nurse experts within the parameters of the Florida law, the SANE standards of the IAFN, and Refuge House policies.
How Long Has SANE Been In This Community?
Though Refuge House was founded in 1978 as a battered women’s shelter in Tallahassee, the SANE Program was instituted in March of 1998. Since the SANE Program’s inception staff, nurses, and volunteers have provided immediate hospital advocacy and accompaniment, medical, forensic, and follow-up support counseling for more than 500 survivors of sexual violence.
What Are The SANE Program Goals?
The goals of the SANE Program are:
- To provide supportive, survivor focused care for survivors of sexual assault.
- To provide crisis intervention and advocacy.
- To provide timely, thorough, and professional forensic evidence collection, documentation, and preservation of evidence.
- To evaluate and treat prophylactically for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
- To evaluate pregnancy risk and offer prevention.
- To assess, document, and seek care for injuries.
- To appropriately refer victims for immediate and follow-up medical care and follow-up counseling.
- To enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies to obtain evidence and successfully prosecute sexual assault cases; in the event that the survivor so desires
How Does The SANE Program Operate?
Interested, qualified nurses will contact Refuge House and undergo review process. Successful candidates will enter a training contract with Refuge House in which the candidate agrees to attend Basic SANE training, complete clinical training with in 90 days of completing Basic SANE, and to contract with Refuge House for a minimum of one year after completing all training requirements. Upon entering the contract as a SANE, nurses will submit a monthly on-call schedule indicating availability (off premises) for hospital response. The ideal goal of the SANE Program is to ensure that there is a SANE available on-call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; with this in mind, on-call time for SANE’s is set at a minimum of 36 hours per month. The on call SANE is called immediately whenever a sexual assault survivor presents at the hospital or contacts law enforcement requesting a forensic examination. If the survivor indicates that she/he would like to have Refuge House involved, then a Sexual Violence On-Call Advocate will also be called.
Tell Me More About Basic SANE Training...
Any interested and qualified registered nurse who completes the training is qualified to be a SANE, an advanced degree is not a requirement. Basic SANE training programs typically consist of approximately 40 hours of classroom instruction. Training topics for this course include:
- Definition of the SANE role.
- Collection of evidence (including forensic procedures such as maintaining the chain-of evidence).
- Testing and/or treatment of STDs.
- Evaluation and prevention of pregnancy.
- Typical victim responses and crisis intervention.
- Assessment of injuries.
- Documentation.
- Courtroom testimony (Mock Trial).
- Corroborating with related community agencies.
- Competently completing an exam.
- Forensic photography.
Some programs also specify a designated number of clinical hours after completing the classroom training. The range, when required, is from 40 hours to as many as 96 hours of additional clinical experience. The Refuge House SANE Program does not have a set number of hours for clinical experience, instead the Program requires nurses to complete 25 pelvic examinations thus allowing for required normal vaginal speculum and bi-manual examination experience.
How Are SANE's Compensated For Services?
The literature indicates that most SANE programs vary in payment plans for the nurses, whereas some programs pay per case for the exam and at variable on-call rates. The rate of pay for SANE’s contracting with Refuge House is as follows:
| On-Call |
$2.08 per hour |
| Exam |
$125.00 per forensic examination |
| Response with No Exam |
$25.00 per response to hospital without an examination |
| Meetings |
$25.00 per meeting (once monthly) |
How Do I Sign Up?
If you are interested in becoming a Refuge House SANE, please send a cover letter, resume, and a copy of your valid Florida Nursing License to:
Nancy Phillips, Business Manager
C/O REFUGE HOUSE, INC.
PO Box 20910, Tallahassee, Fl 32316
Fax: (850) 413-0395
Email: nphillips@refugehouse.com |
Still Interested?
For more questions about the Refuge House SANE Program, please contact:
Deborah Lloyd
Outreach Services Director
Refuge House, Inc.
(850) 922-6062
dlloyd@refugehouse.com |
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