The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) team is an exemplary group of highly skilled trauma-informed nurses. This team is comprised of nurses who already work in a primary position within healthcare. These team members choose to work additional hours in a secondary role to provide nursing excellence and support to patients that are some of the most vulnerable patient populations we encounter. These nurses ensure continual coverage on all days and nights to assure that every patient arriving as a sexual assault has a highly trained and skilled nurse examiner to provide them care.

These nurses provide care to both pediatric and adult populations. This includes child abuse and sexual assault. One sexual assault victim is now going to school to also be a SANE. The compassion demonstrated by this team cannot be put into words. These nurses work one on one with patients and witness some of the most horrific stories and conditions. Their hard work in the SANE team was awarded an approximately one-million-dollar grant to continue ongoing education and standardization allowing for more nurses to become specially trained.

In addition, many of these nurses have moved forward to become certified in sexual assault. They maintain a patient-centered approach and adapt each stage of their care to make sure they are meeting the needs of their patient while taking extra efforts to maintain forensic evidence. Their highly trained skills and emphasis on treating patients with trauma-informed care should be recognized. While many of these patients do not feel comfortable reaching out directly, we continue to hear the impact this amazing team has had on them. Thank you for the opportunity to nominate such an incredible team for this award.