Sexual assault exams are performed by specially trained nurses who extract and catalogue evidence and photograph injuries. An Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital spokesperson denied that they stopped doing them, surprising advocates who say otherwise. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Rutherford County’s largest hospital will rebuild and expand its sexual assault exam program weeks after facing public criticism for turning victims away.
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford County, once the county’s chief provider of the specialized sexual assault nurse exams, or SANE exams — also referred to as rape kits — abruptly stopped providing them early this year, according to Ericka Downing, director of the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center in Murfreesboro.
Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings Jones, likewise, said the hospital had refused to provide victims forensic exams, which yield key DNA and injury evidence his office relies on to bring perpetrators to justice.
And Murfreesboro Police confirmed their officers have been unable to obtain sexual assault examination evidence in nearly a year from the hospital.
Rutherford DA and victim advocates say county’s largest hospital stopped providing rape kit exams
Nevertheless, a hospital spokesperson earlier this month flatly denied the hospital had ceased performing exams. The spokesperson told the Lookout that the hospital sometimes struggled to provide 24/7 coverage but it “continues to provide rape kit exams.”
The hospital has now released a written plan outlining its commitment to “rebuilding and expanding our SANE program.”
The plan says the hospital has been referring “most patients” to the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center in Murfreesboro, a small nonprofit that relies on a part-time nurse and has the capacity to perform just half a dozen exams per year.
At least 69 victims were able to obtain sexual assault exams at the hospital in 2023, according to Downing, whose organization previously got a call from the hospital each time a victim presented in order to send an advocate to offer support. This year the agency hasn’t received a single call from the hospital to accompany a victim, she said.
In a two-page informational memo, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital said it had faced increasing challenges in maintaining round-the-clock coverage, a situation worsened by COVID 19 as well as staffing shortages, training requirements and the extensive time needed for each exam
The hospital will now implement a “regional float pool” to provide 24/7 coverage for victims seeking the evidence-gathering exams. The plan includes recruiting a pool of trained nurses to work in company hospitals in Rutherford, Warren and White Counties, the memo said.
“I am hopeful that it is heading in the right direction,” Downing said Tuesday. “I am working very closely with leadership at (the hospital) and will be taking an active role in supporting the medical staff who will be completing these exams. We have a strong desire to see that all sexual assault survivors get the care that they deserve and that the care is local.”
A spokesperson for the hospital did not respond to a request for additional information Tuesday.
The hospital previously declined the Lookout’s request to provide the number of forensic exams it has conducted so far this year.
Sexual assault survivor advocates and law enforcement have stressed it does not appear to them that the hospital has conducted any exams since January of this year.
Murfreesboro police: victims no longer access rape kit exams at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford
Some victims needing exams have turned to Nashville’s Sexual Assault Center, about a 45 minute drive from Murfreesboro. Since January, local law enforcement officers have transported eight victims from Rutherford County to the facility for the exams, while two victims made their way on their own, said Rachel Freeman, CEO.
Asking victims who have just survived the trauma of a sexual assault to then go to a second location for a forensic exam may discourage them from seeking the critical evidence-preserving procedure, add to victims’ trauma and prevent victims from seeing justice, Downing said.
ASTR SANE Program Overview (1)