Beginning in 2015 sexual assault exams will once again be available in Boulder County. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, or SANE will be housed at Boulder Community Health and utilize nurse training assistance through the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Until their reintroduction, the exams haven’t been available in Boulder County or on the campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"We have committed to $45,000 for this year and for two additional years and then we'll see where the program is. But I think this is a really critical support services for our community," said Valerie Simons, Title IV Coordinator for CU-Boulder.
Boulder County Commissioners also approved funding for nurse training in their 2015 budget.
Simons said while the program will serve the entire county, it will be an asset to CU's students who are taught about sexual assault and campus services for victimsduring orientation.
"Wardenberg is our health clinic here [at CU] and it's not open on the weekends and at night, and so we wanted to make sure to have a program that was fully staffed in a medical center because the priority for these kind of programs is to get immediate medical attention. And so having it at Boulder Community Health is really the ideal location," Simons said.
It's been 12 years since Boulder County last had a SANE program. Since then sexual assault victims have had to travel to hospitals in Loveland or Westminster for the exams.
