PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) — There are new care options in Fond du Lac for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors at Aurora Medical Center.
The S.A.N.E Program, which stands for sexual assault nurse examiners, offers services like sexual assault evidence kits, forensic photography, and medications to prevent STIs.
Before opening this month, patients would have to travel to Oshkosh for care.
“Since October 1, we have seen four people,” said Brenda Doolittle, Aurora Forensic Nurse Manager. “I anticipate Fond du Lac being as busy as we are in Oshkosh, and in Oshkosh we see about 200 patients a year.”
Doolittle says in the past, there were Fond du Lac residents who wouldn’t get the care they need because they couldn’t make the trip to Oshkosh. The program is the first of its kind in Fond du Lac; which Doolittle says could hopefully encourage more victims to get help.
Through the S.A.N.E. program, Aurora is partnered with agencies like A-STOP to provide their patients with additional support after their visit to the doctor.
“It’s for them to have that ongoing healing journey after they’ve seen us,” said Doolittle. “They can continue to process with them; maybe they need to go to court and that advocate can also go to court with them.”
Aurora Health Care also has a 24/7 hotline for survivors (414-219-5555); you can also get support through their confidential text line (414-219-1551).
Comments