Thanks to fundraising from SGA, the University medical clinic was able to certify their nurses as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners.
These nurses are now able to perform forensic exams on men, women and transgender people to gather evidence of sexual assault and provide treatment and medication to prevent the spread of STDs.
The program at the medical clinic formally began on Jan. 21. Auburn University students can come in and be treated confidentially anywhere from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays at no cost.
According to Frederick Kam, medical director for the clinic, forensic exams take four hours to complete, so they need a 2 p.m. cutoff time to fit within their regular hours since the clinic closes at 6 p.m. Though he said the East Alabama Medical Center offers access to SANE nurses 24/7.
Unlike the EAMC, the clinic does not have the resources to provide these services after hours, Kam said. But the clinic does provide something the EAMC cannot: location.
It was brought to campus after SGA requested it so that students who can’t go to the EAMC due to distance still have access to this resource.
“[SGA was] prepared to fund it, to help raise the funds to support it,” Kam said. “So we committed to doing it on those conditions. It’s an effort to make it more convenient — both geographically and timeline-wise.”
According to Kam, many victims of sexual assault wait a few hours before reaching out for help, because they are rationalizing the situation. So if they are assaulted at night, they will still be able to receive a forensic exam the next day or even the next, due to Alabama’s 72-hour window to receive a forensic exam.
According to Allison Kennedy, a SANE-certified nurse at the EAMC, most of the patients the EAMC treated through the SANE program waited 12 hours or longer. Kennedy is assisting the clinic in the first few months of their program.
Once a victim of sexual assault comes to the clinic, they can use the kiosks to report they were assaulted — without saying a word to anyone.
Whenever a nurse takes one of those patients out of the waiting room, that person is their only responsibility for the next four hours.
Once a student receives a forensic exam, the results are stored in a confidential location, so that if the student decides to contact the police and report the assault, they will have a body of evidence to support them. Though it is still their choice to inform the police or not.
Lisa Harmon, nursing manager at the medical clinic, said patients are informed of resources to help their mental health, such as Safe Harbor, student counseling services and Rape Counselors of East Alabama.
According to Kam, becoming SANE certified was completely voluntary. Fortunately, all five nurses at the clinic agreed to become certified.
“Having five fully trained SANE nurses in a building at one time is truly a unique situation that is actually going to be a luxury,” Harmon said.
She said it says a lot that SGA wants to provide this service.
On Tiger Giving Day, SGA will be releasing a video to get more funds for the program.
“The student body came to us,” Harmon said. “They want this. They requested that, and we are working very hard. Every nurse here was completely on board and excited to do it because they want to provide the service for the students.”
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Trice Brown, sophomore in english language arts education, is the campus editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
