Advanced nursing education - sexual assault nurse examiners program - sexual assault nurse examiners (SANES) are vital to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence

SANES provide trauma-informed, specialized care to support survivors, assess for medical needs and if indicated, collect evidence in a respectful manner that prevents revictimization. Unfortunately, most counties in ohio have no SANES available. In a 10-county area of northeast ohio, there are only 3 sane certified RNS and 7 of those counties have no sane services. This project aims to increase the availability of sane trained nurses in the 10-county area by connecting with stakeholders, recruiting nurses to attend sane trainings close to where they live and work, hiring additional SANES to provide services to medically underserved populations and creating a network of SANES to support and mentor one another. Trainees and newly hired SANES will be assessed for health-related social needs and mitigation plans will be developed to dismantle systemic barriers preventing them from achieving personal and professional success. In addition to increasing the access to SANES, a community health needs assessment will be conducted related to sane services in the target area. Recommendations will be developed with community service agencies, community members and other stakeholders to prioritize interventions. Actions will be tracked, and progress reported out to the community. Finally, a wellness series will be developed to support sane retention. The series will focus on the dimensions of wellness, how the work of SANES impacts wellness and what SANES can do manage the deleterious effects of vicarious trauma.