by Harrison Laws
LEGISLATURE POSTPONED FUNDING SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE TRAINING IN EASTERN WASHINGTON
Washington State Legislation was formed to fund sexual assault training for nurses at Washington State University. The bill was read in committee this year but will be suspended until the next session.
According to the office of Rep. Eileen Cody, a $300,000. proviso was put forth for the bill in the supplemental budget this month.
Stated by the Washington State Legislative site, House Bill 1942 sets to establish a program at Washinton State University to increase the availability of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) training in under-resourced and rural areas of the state, with online and clinical training as well as scholarships for nurses to complete the training.
“Often if you don’t have a SANE nurse do the sexual assault kit exam… that forensic evidence is often able to be dismissed in court and the perpetrator walks…There is a shortage of SANE nurses across the nation, not just in our state. The only place you can be certified is at Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle,” said Rep. Gina Mosbrucker the primary sponsor of HB 1942.
This lack of accessibility to SANE training makes it difficult for nurses, especially in rural areas of the state to receive certification. In order for a nurse to get certified in Washington state, they have to make it to Seattle for a five-day course. This can be expensive and inconvenient for nurses that operate in Eastern Washington.
According to Rep. Mosbrucker, one of the challenges many small hospitals face, especially critical care hospitals is to let a nurse leave to complete the five-day training. Even if a hospital is willing to let you go to Seattle for training, they usually don’t have a nurse that can cover that shift. Additionally, it can be expensive you have fuel and the expense of a hotel for five days. Many of nurses have children, so they’re paying additional costs for daycare or a sitter.
According to the Department of Commerce report, Tri-StateMemorial Hospital and the Othello Community Hospital only have three SANE nurses trained, compared to the Pullman Regional Hospital with 14 trained.
First-year nursing student Jenna VanSanford currently studies at WSU, Spokane. According to VanSanford, “as a nurse, you never know what you’re going to walk into on that day and you can’t plan for something like that. So if you have a patient that you start talking to and realize an assault has happened I think having tools in place that are standardized to figure out what needs to be done would be really important.”
Supporters of the bill are eager to keep fighting for the bill to pass in the next section. For more information on HB 1942 go toLEGISLATURE POSTPONED FUNDING SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE TRAINING IN EASTERN WASHINGTON
Washington State Legislation was formed to fund sexual assault training for nurses at Washington State University. The bill was read in committee this year but will be suspended until the next session.
According to the office of Rep. Eileen Cody, a $300,000 Proviso was put forth for the bill in the supplemental budget this month.
Stated by the Washington State Legislative site, House Bill 1942 sets to establish a program at Washinton State University to increase the availability of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) training in under-resourced and rural areas of the state, with online and clinical training as well as scholarships for nurses to complete the training.
“Often if you don’t have a SANE nurse do the sexual assault kit exam… that forensic evidence is often able to be dismissed in court and the perpetrator walks…There is a shortage of SANE nurses across the nation, not just in our state. The only place you can be certified is at Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle,” said Rep. Gina Mosbrucker the primary sponsor of HB 1942.
This lack of accessibility to SANE training makes it difficult for nurses, especially in rural areas of the state to receive certification. In order for a nurse to get certified in Washington state, they have to make it to Seattle for a five-day course. This can be expensive and inconvenient for nurses that operate in Eastern Washington.
According to Rep. Mosbrucker, one of the challenges many small hospitals face, especially critical care hospitals is to let a nurse leave to complete the five-day training. Even if a hospital is willing to let you go to Seattle to train, they usually don’t have a nurse that can cover that shift. On top of that, it can be expensive, you have fuel, the expense of a hotel for five days, many of them have children so they’re paying for daycare and trying to find someone to watch their child or children.
According to the Department of Commerce report, Tri-State Memorial Hospital and the Othello Community Hospital only have three SANE nurses trained, compared to the Pullman Regional Hospital with 14 trained.
First-year nursing student Jenna VanSanford currently studies at WSU, Spokane. According to VanSanford, “as a nurse, you never know what you’re going to walk into on that day and you can’t plan for something like that. So if you have a patient that you start talking to and realize an assault has happened I think having tools in place that are standardized to figure out what needs to be done would be really important.”
Supporters of the bill are eager to keep fighting for the bill to pass in the next section. For more information on HB 1942 go to https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary1942.
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