Programs

  • Program 1 [2020]

    WASATCH FORENSIC NURSES COMPLETED IS 19TH YEAR IN OPERATION IN 2020. IT WAS A CHALLENGING YEAR BEING PART OF HEALTHCARE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. WITH THE SHUTDOWN OF COMMUNITIES WE SERVE, THE NUMBER OF EXAMS WE PERFORMED WAS REDUCED BY APPROXIMATELY 15%. HOWEVER, THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, OUR TEAM CONTINUED TO RESPOND TO EVERY VICTIM WHO REQUESTED AN EXAM. OUR TEAM RESPONDED AND CARED FOR SEVERAL KNOWN COVID POSITIVE PATIENTS. OUR NURSES WERE ABLE TO REMAIN SAFE AND PROTECTED. NONE OF OUR NURSES, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, WERE EXPOSED OR CONTRACTED COVID-19 FROM PERFORMING FORENSIC SEXUAL ASSAULT OR INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE EXAMS WITH PATIENTS. WE CONTINUED TO NOT ONLY MAINTAIN A TEAM OF HIGHLY TRAINED NURSES, BUT WERE ABLE TO HIRE NEW NURSES AND MAINTAIN AN ON-CALL CALENDAR 24 HOURS-A-DAY, 7 DAYS-A-WEEK, 365 DAYS-A- YEAR. WE WERE ABLE TO OUTFIT OUR TEAM WITH THE PPE NECESSARY IF THEY WERE CALLED INTO HOSPITALS THAT WERE SHORT ON SAFETY EQUIPMENT. WITH CONSULTATION FROM THE STATE AND LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, WE OUTFITTED OUR OFFICE WITH A PELVIC BED AND ALL EQUIPMENT AND MEDICATIONS NECESSARY TO CONDUCT AN EXAM, IN THE EVENT PATIENTS WERE TURNED AWAY FROM LOCAL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. WE SET UP BACK-UP SECURITY AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE RESPONSE WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE U OF U MOBILE CRISIS TEAM. FORTUNATELY, IT WAS NOT NECESSARY TO UTILIZE THE EQUIPMENT OR RESOURCES. WE SOUGHT VOLUNTEER HOSPITAL RESPONSE TEAM ADVOCATES FROM THE NATIONAL GUARD, LOCAL ADVOCATES, AND OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WHEN SOME OF OUR HOSPITAL RESPONSE TEAM ADVOCATES WERE UNCOMFORTABLE RESPONDING TO HOSPITALS DUE TO PANDEMIC RELATED CONCERNS. IN 2020 WE PROVIDED CARE FOR 750 PATIENTS WHO REPORTED EXPERIENCING SEXUAL AND OR INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE. OF THESE PATIENTS, 567 WERE CARED FOR IN SALT LAKE COUNTY, 167 CARED FOR IN UTAH COUNTY, WITH 9 CARED FOR IN SUMMIT COUNTY AND 7 IN WASATCH COUNTY. WE ALSO PROVIDED FORENSIC EXAMINATIONS ON SUSPECTED PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AT THE REQUEST OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. OUR RESPONSE HAS CONTINUED TO HELP REDUCE THE LONG-TERM HEALTH CONSEQUENCES EXPERIENCED BY VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE THROUGH TIMELY AND SENSITIVE CARE. OUR SERVICES REDUCE THE BURDEN EXPERIENCED BY EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT (ED) PERSONNEL BECAUSE OUR NURSES ARE SPECIALLY TRAINED TO PROVIDE A TRAUMA-INFORMED RESPONSE WHEN VICTIMS ARE IN NEED OF OUR SERVICES. ED PERSONNEL AND PROVIDERS ARE ABLE TO FOCUS ON OTHER CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IN NEED OF THEIR CARE. OUR SERVICES COULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND FOUNDATIONS. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UTAH COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT (UCASA) AND A VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT (VOCA) GRANT, OUR STATEWIDE PRECEPTOR PROGRAM WFN WAS ABLE TO HOST 10 PRECEPTEES FROM RURAL AREAS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF UTAH IN 2020. WHILE THE PANDEMIC POSED SOME CHALLENGES, CAUSING US TO SUSPEND THE PROGRAM FOR A FEW MONTHS IN 2020, WE WERE STILL ABLE TO HOST NURSES FROM RURAL AREAS FOR FOUR DAYS AT A TIME AND OFFER THEM TRAINING, INSIGHT AND EXPERIENCE THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NOT RECEIVE IN THEIR SERVICE AREAS. THE NURSES WHO VISIT OUR TEAM ARE ABLE TO GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE THEY CAN TAKE BACK TO THEIR TEAMS. MOST NURSES WHO ARE HOSTED BY OUR TEAM RECEIVE A HIGH VOLUME OF CALLS WITH OUR TEAM DURING THEIR TRAINING. WFN REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE EDUCATION OF NURSES AND VARIOUS PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF UTAH. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ICJR GRANT THROUGH PROVO CITY, WFN WAS ABLE TO SEND TEN NURSES TO A VIRTUAL TRAINING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC NURSES (IAFN). OUR NURSES COLLECTIVELY RECEIVED OVER 300 HOURS OF TRAINING BY ATTENDING VARIOUS SESSIONS DIRECTLY RELATED TO FORENSIC NURSING, MANAGING FORENSIC NURSING TEAMS, STRANGULATION AND MANY OTHER TOPICS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE IMPORTANT WORK OUR NURSES CONDUCT. THE VIRTUAL MODALITY OF THIS TRAINING ALLOWED NURSES TO ATTEND MORE SESSIONS THAN THEY'D OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO DURING AN IN-PERSON TRAINING, DUE TO PLENARY SESSIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS BEING RECORDED AND ABLE TO BE ATTENDED AT VARIOUS TIMES OVER SEVERAL MONTHS.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2020 – Dec 31, 2020
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $441.2K

  • Wasatch Forensic Nurses Services

    WASATCH FORENSIC NURSES (WFN) CONTINUES TO OPERATE AND HAS SUSTAINED PROVIDING CARE TO PATIENTS OF RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE FOR 21 YEARS. YEAR OVER YEAR, THE DEMAND FOR EXAMS CONTINUES TO RISE. IN 2022 WE PROVIDED CARE TO 865 PATIENTS. OF THESE CASES, 68 WERE FOR INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE. WE SAW A RISE IN INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE EXAMS IN 2022, IN PART, DUE TO THE FUNDING AVAILABLE FROM THE COMMISSION ON CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE CCJJ. WE WERE AWARDED A GRANT THROUGH CCJJ FROM FEDERAL FUNDS VIA THE BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR EQUIPMENT, TRAINING AND PAYMENT OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE EXAMS. THE FUNDING ALLOWED WFN TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND TRAINING, NOT PREVIOUSLY FUNDED AT THE STATE LEVEL. IN DECEMBER 2022, WFN FACILITATED A DAY AND A HALF, VIRTUAL STRANGULATION WORKSHOP FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF UTAH. WE HAD OVER 250 PARTICIPANTS THE FIRST DAY AND 220 PARTICIPANTS THE SECOND DAY. MANY OF THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED THROUGHOUT THE STATE REQUESTED THE TRAINING BE OFFERED ANNUALLY. WE HAD PRESENTERS FROM UTAH, ARIZONA AND OTHER STATES, AS WELL AS MEDICAL, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTORIAL PARTNERS THAT WERE ABLE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO VARIOUS DISCIPLINES INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE. BECAUSE THE TRAINING WAS GRANT FUNDED, WE WERE ABLE TO OFFER IT FREE OF CHARGE TO ALL ATTENDEES. THIS ALLOWED RURAL AGENCIES/PROFESSIONALS AND OTHERS WITH LIMITED FUNDING TO BENEFIT FROM THE INFORMATION PRESENTED. ON NOVEMBER 5, 2023, WFN HELD A FUNDRAISING EVENT TO CELEBRATE THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF WASATCH FORENSIC NURSES. THE COMMUNITIES WE WORK IN WERE VERY GENEROUS WITH DONATIONS FOR OUR SILENT AUCTION. WE HAD OVER 70 DONATIONS FROM VARIOUS PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND COMPANIES IN UTAH. WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO HOLD AN IN-PERSON FUNDRAISING EVENT WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO BRING OUR TEAM AND COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR AN EVENING OF ENJOYMENT. THROUGHOUT OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS, WE WERE ABLE TO EDUCATE SEVERAL IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN ASKING FOR DONATIONS. WE FOUND THIS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND IMPORTANT PARTS OF OUR EFFORTS. OUR SILENT AUCTION AND IN- PERSON RAFFLE ALLOWED WFN TO COLLECT UPWARDS OF 15,000.00 IN DONATIONS WHICH GREATLY ASSISTED OUR ORGANIZATION. THROUGHOUT 2022, WFN CONTINUED TO OFFER PRECEPTORSHIPS TO FORENSIC NURSES FROM RURAL COUNTIES. IN 2022 WE HOSTED THREE FORENSIC NURSES WHO PRECEPTED WITH OUR PROGRAM FOR THREE DAYS AT A TIME. PRECEPTEES RESPOND TO ALL CALLS WITH OUR TEAM DURING THE TIME THEY SPEND WITH US. THE PROGRAM WAS GRANT FUNDED THROUGH THE UTAH COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT, ALLOWING TEAMS WHO SENT NURSES, TO HAVE THEIR NURSES ATTEND TRAINING AT NO COST. NURSES WHO ATTEND RECEIVE TRAINING AND OFTEN RESPOND TO MORE CASES IN ONE WEEKEND THAN THEIR TEAM MAY SEE IN ONE YEAR. IT ALLOWS THEM TO SHARPEN THEIR SKILLSET IN FORENSIC NURSING AND STAY UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST UPDATES IN THE FIELD, WHILE OBSERVING CASES WITH OUR TEAM. WFN CONTINUES TO BE A LEADER IN THE FIELD OF FORENSIC NURSING IN THE STATE OF UTAH, CARING FOR A MAJORITY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE PATIENTS IN THE STATE, DUE TO THE SERVICE AREA WE COVER. NUMBERS REPORTED FROM THE STATE OF UTAH CRIME LAB INDICATE THAT WFN SUBMITS 60% OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS TO THE CRIME LAB ANNUALLY. WFN CONTINUES TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, SERVE ON VARIOUS COMMITTEES REGARDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND ELDER ABUSE. FURTHERMORE, WE STRIVE TO OFFER AGENCY SPECIFIC TRAINING TO HOSPITALS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, PROSECUTORS AND OTHERS AND GATHER STATISTICAL INFORMATION THAT HAS ASSISTED IN ENHANCING FORENSIC NURSING, EVIDENCE COLLECTION AND LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO ENSURE VICTIM SERVICES REMAIN, ARE PRIORITIZED AND ARE NOT ONLY ABLE TO CONTINUE , BUT BECOME STRENGTHENED IN THE STATE OF UTAH.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $423.4K