Great Bend Regional Hospital recently sponsored a forensic training program for area law enforcement officers, explaining what medical forensic examination means for criminal investigations.
Two forensic nurses with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) credentials covered numerous topics at the Front Door Facility in Great Bend. The presenters were Deb Higgins, RN SANE from Great Bend, and Jennifer Johnson, MSN, APRN, AFN-BC, SANE-A, SANE-P from Shawnee.
“The goal for the training was to improve and build on the services we already have in place for victims who come through our doors at Great Bend Regional Hospital,” said Higgins. “We helped them understand the services we can provide to these types of patients, and we learned from them how we can work together to get the best possible outcomes for those victims.”
Topics included strangulation, medical forensic examination and evidence collection by the medical professional, human bites, patterned injuries, patterns of injury, sexual assault, suspect examinations, gunshot wounds and forensic photography.
The training was attended by officers from the Great Bend and Ellinwood police departments and the Barton, Lyons and Ellis County sheriff’s offices, along with nurses from Great Bend Regional Hospital and the Barton County Health Department.
“The hospital is also announcing its new policies in place to forensically photograph injuries from sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, stab wounds and gunshot wounds,” Higgins said. “This is all part of our hospital’s effort to advocate for the victims and document their injuries in case of a future criminal trial.”