Resilience’s SANE Program Celebrates 25 Years
This November, our Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program turns 25. It exists because people in this community decided that survivors deserved better.
Before November 2001, survivors on the Lakeshore had two options: wait for hours in a local emergency room, where privacy was limited and specialized training in sexual assault care wasn’t always available, or travel to Grand Rapids, home to Michigan’s first SANE program.
The Center for Women in Transition (CWIT, our name until 2019) set out to change that. Executive Director Donna Cornwell led a $2.5 million campaign and hired Sue Shattuck, RN, an experienced ER and SANE nurse. On November 1, 2001, our SANE program opened in Holland, offering on-site medical care 24/7.
45 days after the opening, Sue Shattuck, Inaugural SANE Program Coordinator, said something groundbreaking in an interview for the Holland Sentinel, which would then resonate 25 years later:
“The victims are in control… They’re the boss.”
In the first year, 64 survivors received care, 28% above projections. That care is part of nearly 50 years of support for survivors of violence in our community. In 2012, our SANE program was recognized as a Hometown Health Hero by the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Today, that same promise still holds true.
Resilience is a place built for three purposes: responding to, reducing, and preventing domestic and sexual violence. Hospitals do essential work, but emergency rooms are designed to treat the most urgent injuries first, so survivors can face long waits in a busy space. We can offer something different, with the time, privacy, and specialized training this care deserves. Not only that, but hospitals are mandated to report crime, and our program allows survivors time to make their own choice and move forward in whatever way they choose.
When someone reaches out to Resilience, an advocate is the first person they speak with. They listen, explain the options, and support every decision. Nurses and advocates then work side by side, and every choice stays with the survivor.
If someone has life-threatening injuries, the ER or 911 is still the right call. We work closely with hospitals across both counties and meet survivors there when needed.
What care looks like today:
- Six on-call SANE nurses, a clinical consultant, a medical director, a program coordinator, and six on-call advocates
- Open to anyone 13 and older, with no police report required
- Free and confidential: survivors never see a bill
- Exams up to 5 days after an assault, sometimes 10
- Evidence stored for at least 5 years, so no one has to decide right away
- Counseling, advocacy, and legal support at all stages of the process
As the only SANE-specific program in Ottawa and Allegan Counties, we hold a responsibility to put survivors’ choices first, and we always have.
A thank-you, this Forensic Nurses Week
Forensic Nurses Week runs November 2–8 this year. It honors nurses who give specialized, compassionate care to survivors of violence. To Sue, who helped build this program, and to the six on-call nurses who answer our calls today: thank you. 25 years of care began with a nurse who believed survivors should be the boss. It continues because of the support of our community.
Not sure where to turn? Call our 24/7 Help Line: 1-800-848-5991
To support Resilience’s mission to respond to, reduce, and prevention domestic and sexual violence, make a donation today at www.ResilienceMI.org/Donate
