As a result, it is believed that many victims were less likely to follow through on the evidence collection due to the prolonged discomfort and increased physical and emotional stress created by having to travel so far in the hours immediately following a violent assault.

Kari Rinker had previously written about this problem in an October article in the Kansas Free Press, Don't Get Raped in Kansas.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D.-Ca.) pointed out in a November 2009 press release, "The denial of a rape kit to a woman in any jurisdiction and for any reason is unacceptable."

Hays Medical Center's announcement this week marks a reversal of the hospital's decade-long policy of not providing specially certified nurses in Hays to examine local sexual assault victims.

Concerned citizens discussing needs at recent meeting
(photo by Anne Bannister)Up until now, rape victims from the Hays area who were willing to press charges have had to be transported by either law enforcement, strangers or volunteers another 90 miles each way, to and from Salina, in order to be examined by a specialized nurse at the hospital in that city.

A SANE nurse is a registered nurse who has also acquired advanced education and clinical preparation in forensic examination of sexual assault victims.

Although Hays has not had these nurses, many other communities in Kansas do have them available, including small communities like Dodge City and Hutchinson, as well as the larger communities like Lawrence, Topeka, Salina and many others.

The implementation and management of this type of specialized nurse program requires a substantial investment in both time and money, involving the purchase of special equipment, annual training and ongoing staffing costs.

Sources that have attended meetings in previous years with the Hays hospital have told the Kansas Free Press that they were under the impression that Hays Medical Center administration had decided against implementing a SANE program because it viewed it to be too costly especially when it factored in the relatively low incidence of rape in the Hays area.

Recently the hospital and members of the community revisited the idea.

Along with Hays Medical Center, numerous advocates and organizations met together earlier this month at the Sternberg Museum to brainstorm the possible reasons and methods for bringing SANE nurses to Hays.

Organized by a group of Fort Hays State University students, invited attendees included concerned citizens, hospital representatives, local rape victims, law enforcement officers and representatives from the Hays Soroptimist Club, the Kansas Chapter of the National Organization for Women (Kansas NOW), and the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

Those who spoke gave varying explanations but all seemed to agree that having a SANE program in Hays was important.

Some stated that increasing the number of SANE rape examinations can directly relate to an increase in the number of eventual sexual assault convictions. Others expressed the need for SANE by emphasizing the value of providing the service locally so that rape victims can be accompanied by supportive family members or friends during the hours-long, and sometimes grueling examination process.

Most in attendance seem to agree that Hays needs to care for its own rape victims in its own community - as a community.

Though most SANE examinations are conducted in hospitals in Kansas, advocates from Topeka and Wichita mentioned at the meeting that the specialized nurses can also be supplied by university health centers, county health departments or private medical clinics. Some community leaders then suggested that perhaps local groups would need to engage in fund raising or grant-writing efforts in order to raise the necessary start-up funds for a SANE program, if Hays Medical Center won't offer the service.

That was then. Now, just three weeks after the initial community meeting, Hays Medical Center is apparently willing to accept the reins and manage the process itself. The hospital has announced it will lead the effort by implementing its own program.

Scott Rothschild, of the Lawrence Journal-World, quoted Hays Medical Center's vice-president and chief development, Jodi Schmidt as saying that the hospital will "have specially trained nurses in place within the next two or three months."

In a related statement released today, Jana's Campaign to Stop Domestic Violence, an advocacy organization formed in memory of former Hays resident Jana Mackey, expressed gratitude for the new service to be implemented in Hays.

That statement read, "We applaud the Hays Medical Center for [its] decision to provide the best care for all Northwest Kansas citizens."

Thanks to Hays Medical Center, members of local northwestern Kansas communities will be able to access the forensic medical services they need much closer to home.

Some of the attendees at recent SANE meeting in Hays
(photo by Anne Bannister)