According to a study done by Utah State University about sexual assault among women, one in three women have been sexually assaulted, with one in six women reporting that they have been raped. This tragic epidemic often leaves victims confused as to what to do, and not knowing where they should turn. At Castleview Hospital, however, there is somewhere to go. This is thanks to the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program offered by the hospital.

To learn more, Castle Country Radio sat down with Amanda Kaitchuck from the program to talk about what they offer, and how programs like this can benefit rural communities like ours.

Opening our discussion, Kaitchuck explained what SANE does,” A SANE is a specially trained nurse who is there to provide health care. Our goal is to make sure that any woman or man who has suffered from any sexual assault or violent crime has access to health care.”

One unique aspect of the SANE program is that it is survivor-driven. Kaitchuck explained,” That means that we are here to provide health care exams to survivors of sexual assault. Our goal is to make sure that after you have already gone through such a traumatic event, you are completely in control of what happens to you next. You have the ability to say no.” She continued,” It’s completely up to you. You can stop the exam at any point that you want. And that we will only do as much as you want.”

Another important part of this program is the cost or the lack thereof,” it’s really important to know that these exams are free and they’re confidential. So you never have to worry about your ability to pay for these exams.”

As for how someone might request a SANE examiner, Kaitchuck explained that the process is quite simple,” We have information on our website, but you can always come into the emergency department 24 hours a day. Because these nurses are specially trained, they’re not always there, but we always can call someone in for you. So if you show up at two o’clock in the morning on a Thursday and there’s no one there, we can call someone and we’ll have someone there for you within an hour.”

Kaitchuck then moved on to the importance of programs like SANE in our community,” Utah has some of the highest rates of sexual assault in our country. One in three women in our state are assaulted. So it’s important that we’re there for you. We’re also the only hospital for both Carbon and Emery County. So we want to be able to provide this service to the people who need it.”

For more information on Castleview Hospital’s SANE program, you can visit the program’s website here. For more information on all the services offered by Castleview Hospital, as well as Emergency Room wait times, you can visit the Hospital’s website here.