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Evidence is crucial in prosecuting sexual assault cases, but rural communities often struggle to staff forensic sexual assault examiners 24/7. That’s why UPMC Susquehanna  Soldiers + Sailors has proactively partnered with Penn State SAFE-T Center to enhance resources, access, training, and evidence collection for local patients, police, and staff.

Soldiers + Sailors is only the second hospital in the state to launch this gold standard program. The SAFE-T program ensures compassionate, professional evaluations are available 24/7, strengthening evidence collection for local law enforcement.

The SAFE-T program seeks to meet the needs of patients and the staff caring for them. This emotionally taxing work can lead to higher nurse turnover and coverage gaps, especially in rural areas where a single nurse examiner might be responsible for all cases. To guarantee a strong support network for patients and staff, a team of nurses from Soldiers + Sailors embarked on more than a year of vigorous training to become certified sexual assault nurse examiners.

Together, the SAFE-T team at Soldiers + Sailors provides comprehensive support to victims at all hours—ensuring the highest quality of care is always available to patients, no matter where they live.

For more information on the SAFE-T initiative or UPMC Susquehanna Soldiers + Sailors, visit UPMCsusquehanna.org or like and follow their page on Facebook.