For Immediate Release
February 5, 2020
Highlights
- Sexual assault medical forensic exams are now available at Stanford Hospital.
- Specially trained nurses from SCVMC are available 24 hours a day to perform the exams.
- From 2015 to 2019, there was a 79% increase in the number of sexual assault medical forensic exams performed by the SCVMC SAFE Team in Santa Clara County.
Santa Clara County, CA – The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE) team began performing medical forensic exams for sexual assault at Stanford Hospital’s new Emergency Department. Rape crisis advocates have also started responding to survivors at that location.
The expanded services are particularly timely given a 79% increase in the number of medical forensic exams performed by the SCVMC SAFE Team from 2015 to 2019.
The location is at the new Stanford Hospital Emergency Department. It will operate 24-hours a day with specially trained SCVMC sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE) nurses on-call to perform the exams. Previously, exams were primarily conducted at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, which will continue to operate as a SAFE site.
In addition to the new response location, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the local Police Chiefs’ Association, the District Attorney, the Crime Laboratory, and the YWCA and Community Solutions signed a new shared protocol outlining procedures and cooperation aimed at responding to sexual assault in a coordinated manner that supports the survivor.
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