Oklahoma counties dealing with nationwide Sexual Abuse Nurse Examiner shortage
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in three women and one in four men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes, but that’s only based on the number of reported cases.
President Joe Biden is now signing a law to help with the shortage of nurses able to treat these victims.
Talking with nurses from the Muskogee Creek Nation, for the entire 11 county reservation there’s only one full-time Sexual Abuse Nurse Examiner nurse.
“We actually will serve anybody that comes in even if they're coming from out of state," said Brandy Treagesser, the SANE nurse for the Muscogee-Creek Nation Department of Health.
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“If they don't want to answer a certain question, they don't have to. If they don't want me to look at a certain body part, I don't have to. It's just they have so much out of control outside of this room, but when they’re here, that's very important,” she said.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, rape and attempted rape cases reported by women are 35-45% higher than the U.S. rate and have been that way for the past decade.
Some feel that could be part of the reason we’re seeing a shortage in SANE nurses.
Kimberlee Jenkins, an APRN-CPN at the Okmulgee Express Clinic, said, “A lot of people have experienced this trauma in their life, and it brings forth feelings that are hard for them to keep under control. When they're dealing with it from a medical perspective.”
Putting those emotions aside is a part of the 40-hour additional required training.
“Getting them started in the education is not the problem, it's finishing the program, getting through clinicals, and showing up in the middle of the night, or at two o'clock in the morning when someone needs an exam,” she said.
Now, under the Biden Administration funding for SANE programs across the country will be included in a $30 million annual grant through 2028.
Out of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, less than half of them have SANE programs.
Treagesser said, “We've been fortunate enough that we were able to handle that. It's a lot, and like I said, it being nice to have more hands-on because this is very unpredictable. I mean, you could have 10 in a week, or you won't have any for two weeks.”
“You got a few people doing the exams and a lot of people who are needing them," Jenkins said.
They say within the Creek Nation since October they’ve already done 75 exams.
