By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – A new program at the Erie County Medical Center is providing rape victims with special examinations and better evidence collection for the prosecution of their cases.
Officials marked the official opening of SANE -- the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program on Tuesday. It's been operating for a month-and-a-half now. Eleven ECMC nurses were trained in the examination and treatment of rape victims. One of them is registered nurse Sharon Przybylak. She says the 30 or so rape victims who have been treated as part of SANE appreciate the special care.
US Senator Charles Schumer spearheaded the creation of SANE after learning during a visit a year-and-a-half ago that such a program did not exist in Buffalo. He secured federal funding that, along with funds from Erie County, paid for the more than 200-thousand dollar program. Besides providing special care, the nurses were trained in evidence collection and documentation -- something that Schumer says is key in successfully prosecuting an attacker.
A partner with ECMC in the new venture is Crisis Services. Part of the federal funding was used by Crisis Services to purchase a Colposcope, a magnifying camera used to detect and photograph injuries women sustain in a sexual assault. To get an idea of just how powerful this camera is, pull a penny out of your pocket. Notice the display of the Lincoln Memorial. Look closely and all the naked eye detects are the memorial's columns. The Colposcope picks us that statue of Lincoln that sits in the memorial.
ECMC handles more than half of the estimated 300 adult rape cases that occur in Erie County each year. Crisis Services says it hopes to expand SANE to hospitals in the Kaleida and Catholic Health Systems in the coming year.
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