IU Health gets $1.4M grant to boost number of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners across state

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana healthcare providers indicate there is a severe shortage of nurses specifically trained to care for sexual assault victims and collect crucial evidence used to get justice against perpetrators.

IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis has the largest forensic nursing unit in the state, but not every county has Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANEs. In fact, as of 2020, IU Health reports only 32 of Indiana’s 92 counties had a forensic nurse at all.

“We see about 250 sexual assault victims a year,” said Natalie Calow, the Forensic Program Coordinator at IU Health Methodist. “We’ve seen an increase in out of county sexual assaults.”

Calow said there is a huge gap in care across Indiana because there simply are not enough forensic nurses in rural communities.

“So they have to travel up to two hours to get a forensic exam,” she described. “And after you’ve been through a traumatic experience, the last thing you want to do is drive a couple hours for a forensic exam.”

IU Health reports the number of Methodist Hospital patients who needed this type of care jumped by 40% between 2019 and 2023, from 1,486 to 2,053 people. According to IU Health, Riley Hospital for Children also treated 127 victims of sexual abuse or assault who were 15 years old or younger in 2023.

With so many patients coming from other counties, the need for more rural forensic nurses is critical.

“So we’re hoping to educate those nurses, get them trained and up and running in these rural hospitals so we can expand services throughout Indiana,” Calow described.

That is exactly what the Indiana University Health Foundation and Indiana University School of Nursing plan to do with a new $1.4 million federal grant. The money will be used to train more than 300 SANEs over the next three years.

“We’re providing the education, the clinical time and the resources to help rural hospitals start a program,” Calow said.

In the Circle City alone, IMPD reports 254 rape cases so far this year, which is up from 249 this time last year. The department also reports 232 other sex offenses this year, which is down from 285 this time in 2023.

IU Health hopes this grant funding and the new program can help increase the number of forensic nurses statewide who can handle these cases.

“Our criminal justice system can’t be as successful at prosecuting offenders if we don’t have evidence and we need more SANEs to gather that evidence,” IU Health Foundation Grants Director Cassandra Tice said in a statement. “More SANEs will help survivors heal and ensure that justice is served.”

Healthcare providers also hope this new effort helps spread the word to victims themselves.

“How many people are out there that never come for help,” said Paula Reiss, who is the IU School of Nursing Liaison to the program and Resilience Coach. “When you know this type of specialty care exists as a patient, you might be more compelled to come to the hospital to get the care you need.”

The program is opened to registered nurses with at least two years of experience in clinical practice. It kicks off in October.