Wasatch Forensic Nurses

THE MISSION OF WASATCH FORENSIC NURSES IS TO PROVIDE COMPASSIONATE CARE AND PROFESSIONAL TIMELY COLLECTION OF FORENSIC MEDICAL EVIDENCE AS PART OF A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM.

WASATCH FORENSIC NURSES (WFN) COMPLETED ITS 21ST YEAR OF SERVICE IN 2023. THE TEAM FINISHED THE YEAR HAVING COMPLETED 912 EXAMS WITH PHYSICAL ASSAULTS TOTALING 168, FIVE SUSPECT EXAMS AND THE REMAINING 739 EXAMS BEING FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT. IN ADDITION TO THESE EXAMS, WFN COMPLETED A TOTAL OF 325 PATIENT CONSULTS. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WFN CONTINUED TO PROVIDE SERVICES WITH 40 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, THREE ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS AND 26 HOSPITALS AND CLINICS THROUGHOUT OUR SERVICE AREA OF SALT LAKE, SUMMIT, UTAH AND WASATCH COUNTIES. OUR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS HAVE BECOME MORE ROBUST OVER THE YEARS AND REMAIN A FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT FOR OUR CONTINUED SUCCESS. INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE/INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV) FUNDING WAS STILL AVAILABLE TO WFN IN 2023 VIA FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING THROUGH THE COMMISSION ON CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE (CCJJ) BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT. WE PARTNERED WITH 23 OF THE 40 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA DURING THIS PILOT PROJECT TO PROVIDE IPV EXAMS FOR VICTIMS REQUESTING THIS CARE. SIMILAR TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, THESE EXAMS WERE ABLE TO BE PROVIDED AT NO COST TO THE VICTIM. ALONG WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES MENTIONED, THREE MAJOR PROSECUTORIAL AGENCIES AND LOCAL ADVOCATE AGENCIES ENGAGED IN THE PROJECT WITH WFN AND PARTICIPATED IN MULTI-DISCIPLINARY MEETINGS REGARDING THESE TYPES OF CASES. FEEDBACK RECEIVED INDICATED THE FINDINGS AND INFORMATION GATHERED DURING EXAMS ASSISTED IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF THESE CRIMES. LOCAL RESEARCHERS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN PARTNERING WITH WFN IN THE COMING YEAR TO GATHER DATA AND INCLUDE IT IN A NATIONAL REPORT AND RESEARCH PROJECT THAT WILL EVENTUALLY BE PRESENTED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO SUPPORT NATIONAL FUNDING IN THE FUTURE. IN 2023, A SMALL AMOUNT OF LEGISLATIVE FUNDING BECAME AVAILABLE FOR IPV EXAMS. WFN COLLABORATIVELY WORKED WITH THE UTAH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITION (UDVC) AND CCJJ BY SHARING DATA FROM OUR IPV PILOT PROJECT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INSIGHT TO THIS GROUP THAT WAS WORKING TO PROVIDE FUNDS VIA REIMBURSEMENT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WORKING WITH VICTIMS OF IPV. THIS COLLABORATIVE APPROACH ALLOWED WFN TO PROVIDE IPV EXAMS FOR AGENCIES IN OUR SERVICE AREA WHO HAD NOT SIGNED ON TO OUR PILOT PROJECT. COMMUNICATION WITH UDVC BROUGHT TO LIGHT ISSUES WE ENCOUNTERED WITH OUR PILOT PROJECT EARLY ON AND ASSISTED THEM IN UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF THESE EXAMS, LACK OF FUNDING, AND PROVIDED A SECOND FUNDING STREAM (ONCE OUR FUNDING FROM CCJJ WAS EXPENDED) FOR IPV EXAMS. THESE INITIAL CONVERSATIONS HAVE LED TO FURTHER COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OUR AGENCY AND THE STATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITION WITH REGARD TO ONGOING LEGISLATION AND STATE FUNDING SOURCES. WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE ANOTHER COMMUNITY PARTNER IN THIS WORK. AT THE BEGINNING OF 2023, WFN RECEIVED WORD THAT FUNDING FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMS WOULD BE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, AS INCREASED FUNDING FOR EXAMS HAD NOT HAPPENED IN ALMOST A DECADE. THE WFN BOARD FELT STRONGLY THAT NURSE RETENTION NEEDED TO BECOME A MAJOR FOCUS AND THEY GENEROUSLY INCREASED NURSE CASE PAY BY ALMOST 67% WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY RAISING OTHER PAY THE NURSES RECEIVE FOR VARIOUS ACTIVITIES PERFORMED. THIS ALLOWED WFN TO BECOME MORE CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH HOSPITAL SALARIES AND BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE IN THE WORKFORCE WHEN SEEKING NURSES TO JOIN THE TEAM. WFN INCREASED ITS WORKFORCE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ENDING WITH AN ALMOST RECORD OF NURSES ON THE TEAM SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE TEAM. WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF NURSES REACH OUT WANTING TO WORK FOR WFN (NUMBERS WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC). FURTHERMORE, WE RETAINED SEVERAL NURSES ON THE TEAM, WITH APPROXIMATELY 10% OF THE TEAM BEING WITH THE TEAM THREE YEARS OR MORE. PARTWAY THROUGH 2023, FEDERAL FUNDING WAS PULLED FOR PRECEPTORSHIPS FOR RURAL TEAMS, WFN MADE AN OFFERING TO SANE TEAMS ACROSS THE STATE THAT STILL ALLOWED THEM TO PRECEPT WITH OUR TEAM. IN 2023 SIX NURSES FROM RURAL TEAMS PRECEPTED WITH WFN. NURSES SPENT FOUR DAYS RESPONDING TO CASES WITH WFN, FINALIZING THEIR PRECEPTORSHIP WITH HANDS ON TRAINING AND INSIGHTS THEY COULD TAKE BACK TO THEIR RURAL COMMUNITIES. WFN GIVES BACK TO OTHER SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINER (SANE) TEAMS BY PROVIDING THIS INVALUABLE TRAINING TO NURSES FROM RURAL TEAMS WOULD NOT EXPERIENCE. WHILE OUR TEAM SEES HUNDREDS OF PATIENTS A YEAR, SOME RURAL TEAMS MAY ONLY SEE BETWEEN ONE TO 10 PATIENTS A YEAR. PRECEPTING WITH WFN ALLOWS THESE NURSES AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARPEN THEIR SKILLS AND MAINTAIN BEST PRACTICES AND ALLOWS WFN TO MEET THE GOAL OF SUPPORTING EDUCATION ACROSS THE STATE FOR SANES. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF FEDERAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) FUNDING FROM THE STATE OF UTAH OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME, WFN WAS ABLE TO SEND THREE NURSES TO ATTEND SANE-SPECIFIC TRAINING AT THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC NURSING (IAFN) ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN ARIZONA. A FOURTH NURSE WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE VIRTUALLY. NURSES WHO ATTENDED TRAINING BROUGHT BACK VALUABLE INFORMATION AND PRESENTED IT TO OUR TEAM SO THE ENTIRE TEAM BENEFITTED FROM THIS TRAINING. ALLOWING NURSES TO ATTEND SANE SPECIFIC TRAININGS ALLOWS OUR TEAM TO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CARE AND BEST PRACTICES IN THE FIELD. WE ARE ABLE TO PASS ON THIS KNOWLEDGE NOT ONLY TO OUR TEAM BUT TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ALIKE. WFN REMAINS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING A 24 HOUR ON-CALL SCHEDULE, 7 DAYS A WEEK, 365 DAYS A YEAR, COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCED, DEDICATED TEAM OF FORENSIC NURSE EXAMINERS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE EXEMPLARY TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TO VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIME WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT OR IPV.