Imagine for one horrifying second that you, your sister or your best friend were sexually assaulted. What would you do? Who could you turn to for help?
One new place to go for help is the Women's Center for Emergency Care at the University Medical Center. Opened last October as part of continuing emergency room renovations, the care center primarily treats victims of sexual assault, although it also serves women with other types of emergencies.
"If a student comes to the emergency room and indicates she has been sexually assaulted or [was] the victim of domestic violence, [the head nurse] will then set in motion a series of events to ensure the patient is given a private room in the women's center and treated immediately," Hospital spokeswoman Mary Ann Himes-Fields said.
Until last semester, the Hospital had specialized staff to perform exams on sexual assault victims but did not have a good place to perform them.
"Before, we had women who had been sexually assaulted having to wait in the waiting room. Police would be interviewing people in waiting room. It just wasn't a good situation," said Sarah Anderson, director of the Hospital's Forensic Nurse Examining Team.
While working on her master's degree at the Medical School in 1993, Anderson attended a training course on forensic examinations.
She then realized special facilities and procedures were necessary for treating victims of sexual abuse.
In late 1996 the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice awarded her a grant to "care for crime victims in the E.R." With this money, Anderson helped create the care center.
The center's staff selected all the equipment for the wing specifically for pelvic examinations. The wing contains special beds and stretchers with retractable stirrups to facilitate gynecological exams.
The care center also has equipment for performing a forensic pelvic exam, including a video camera, computer monitor and special plastic containers. This equipment cost over $10,000, purchased with funds from Anderson's grant.
The care center has five rooms and eight beds specially designed to give emergency care to women. All rooms are private or semi-private, with one or two beds each.
Each room has a television and subtle soothing decor to help women feel like they are in a familiar, safe place, Emergency Medicine Manager Barbara Craighead said.
This center intentionally is located far from the front desk, the busiest area of the emergency room. "It's off the beaten path," Himes-Fields said. "That adds to the feelings of safety and confidentiality of our patients."
Investigators can question sexual assault victims in their private room. Patients also have access to emergency contraception and medication to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
If necessary, emergency personnel can call Hospital psychiatrists to talk with the victim. They also can give her information about sexual assault resources in Charlottesville.
The center also serves as the primary location for a team of forensic doctors and nurses who are on call 24 hours a day. They receive special training to deal with women and children who have been sexually assaulted. Also, team members often appear as expert witnesses in criminal investigations.
All of this medical care costs somewhere between $400 and $600 per patient, Anderson said. As with all emergency medial care, no patient is turned away because of financial concerns - the Commonwealth of Virginia has a victim's crime fund that pays for everything but medication, Himes-Fields said.
In total, the Hospital's emergency department has 16 attendants and 24 resident doctors. The number in the care center varies depending on the number of patients and problems they experience.
"There are always residents from other services here, too," Craighead said.
One-third of the emergency department's doctors are women, a larger percentage than in most other fields. "For some reason emergency [medicine] tends to attract women," said Fields.
At the care center, both male and female doctors and nurses help patients.
Regardless of who provides patient care, the care center's medical professionals ensure victimized women receive the help they need.
"We treat all types of emergencies here," Craighead said. "We want this to be a safe haven for women of all ages"
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