Fayetteville State launches SANE nursing program specializing in sexual assault survivors care

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fayetteville State University is taking a big step in broadening healthcare for sexual assault victims. Monday, the university opened a new program to train nurses to care for sexual assault victims.

The program is the latest initiative tackling the statewide shortage of nurses specializing in sexual assault victims. Experts at FSU say providing that specialized care can improve how victims heal from their assaults for the rest of their lives.

The program is called the "Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program," (SANE). Fayetteville State officials say students will learn how to collect forensic medical evidence while providing compassionate, trauma-informed care for sexual assault victims.

"This is a real crisis here in the timeliness of follow-up, of having the right leaders by the bedside," said Chancellor Darrell Allison, "...also be able to address this backlog that we have that stretches over to the Attorney General's office."

The state of North Carolina granted Fayetteville State $1.5 million to host the training program that is two years in the making. The grant is a distinct honor to FSU not just as a public university, but also as the first HBCU in the country to host the program.

"What we are trying to do here is have a statewide initiative for increasing the supply and distribution of sexual assault nurse examiners throughout the state of North Carolina," said Dr. Sheila Cannon, the Associate Dean Of Fsu Nursing School. "Because of how we sit at FSU, because we are diverse in population, we have the capability to not only reach students in our program but also students across the state."

While conducting research, Cannon found there were only about 60 certified sexual assault nurse examiners in the state. She also found only seven of North Carolina's 18 counties in the southeast have one of these nurses.

"I think what's so important, too, is that there are not that many African American sexual assault nurses as well. And so, to have someone at the bedside that looks like them, they're much more likely to be open in their care."

The university says about 30 students are enrolled in the 12-day program in the spring semester. Officials hope to train about 80 students by the end of 2023.