E&C Leaders Question State Hospital Associations About Accessibility of Rape Kits

Press Release

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS) sent letters to a sample of state hospital associations regarding the availability of Sexual Assault Forensic Exams ("SAFE kits").

The letters to various state hospital associations highlight a 2016 report on Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) which found that the number of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) "does not meet the need for exams within their states."

"Not all hospitals employ SANEs or provide SAFE rape kits to patients, and there are no federal requirements regarding the availability of SANEs in health care facilities," wrote Walden and Harper. "According to the GAO, a Joint Commission accreditation standard requires that hospitals "establish policies for identifying and assessing possible victims of sexual assault and to train staff on those policies, [but] each hospital is responsible for determining the level of specificity of such policies, including the minimum level of training required of its medical staff that performs exams.' In other words, hospitals may simply choose not to provide these services."

The leaders continued, "Indeed, according to recent news reports, victims of sexual assault often have trouble obtaining a rape kit. Moreover, GAO found that the lack of SANEs can be particularly acute in rural areas, where there may be just one SANE or one SANE program to serve multiple counties, and a patient may have to travel several hours to reach a facility that offers SAFE rape kits. However, the issue is not isolated to rural areas. In some metropolitan areas, including Washington, DC and Las Vegas, NV, there may be only one facility that provides SAFE rape kits. As such, a rape victim must go to that specific hospital to get the most appropriate treatment."

Chairmen Walden and Harper posed several questions to each state hospital association about SANE programs, how they are monitored, the availability of SAFE kits, and information on challenges they face in offering these important services.

The letters sent today follow letters sent by the committee in March 2018 to 15 hospitals across the country. Those letters posed questions about the availability of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) at each hospital.

Click HERE to read the letters.

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