Archive for the “Forensic Nurse Training” Category


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In most cases the EIA (enzyme immunoassay), used on blood drawn from a vein, is the most common screening test used to look for antibodies to HIV. A positive (reactive) EIA must be used with a follow-up (confirmatory) test such as the Western blot to make a positive diagnosis. There are EIA tests that use other body fluids to look for antibodies to HIV. These include:

  • Oral Fluid Tests – use oral fluid (not saliva) that is collected from the mouth using a special collection device. This is an EIA antibody test similar to the standard blood EIA test. A follow-up confirmatory Western Blot uses the same oral fluid sample.
  • Urine Tests – use urine instead of blood. The sensitivity and specificity (accuracy) are somewhat less than that of the blood and oral fluid tests. This is also an EIA antibody test similar to blood EIA tests and requires a follow-up confirmatory Western Blot using the same urine sample.

Rapid Tests:

A rapid test is a screening test that produces very quick results, in approximately 20 minutes. Rapid tests use blood from a vein or from a finger stick, or oral fluid to look for the presence of antibodies to HIV. As is true for all screening tests, a reactive rapid HIV test result must be confirmed with a follow-up confirmatory test before a final diagnosis of infection can be made. These tests have similar accuracy rates as traditional EIA screening tests. Please visit the rapid HIV testing section for details.

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Victims Assistance Services of WestCOP, Inc. in collaboration with Barbara Rome, RN, SANE-A will be providing a four-day, 40-hour Adult/Adolescent SANE training course based on the New York State DOH protocol, the National protocol and the IAFN standards for SANE education.

 

Victims Assistance Services coordinates the Westchester County SANE Program.  This training will take place at their main office in Elmsford from 8am-6pm, on January 28th, 2010 through January 31st, 2010.  If you are a RN, NP or PA interested in taking this training, in order to specifically work as a SANE in our county-wide program, please send a cover letter and resume via email to mlaaksonen@westcop.org or via fax to 914-345-3513 to the attention of Michele Laaksonen, Sexual Assault Program Manager I.    The training fee is $250.  The deadline for training registration is January 1st, 2010.  Due to space limitations, we will be accepting a restricted number of applicants.   

 About the trainer:  Barbara Rome is an Assistant Professor at Westchester Community College and emergency room nurse and nursing supervisor at Northern Westchester Hospital.  She is a nationally and New York state certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and has been practicing as a SANE in both Putnam and Westchester County for over ten years.  Barbara has been called to testify in criminal trial and before the grand jury on numerous occasions.  She holds a Master of Science degree from Mercy College.  

Victims Assistance Services is a component of Westchester Community Opportunity Program Inc., a private not-for-profit, multipurpose social service agency dedicated to helping people and changing lives.

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       State Funding of Abortion Under Medicaid

State

 Life Endangerment, Rape and Incest

 Other Exceptions

 Funds All of Most Medically Necessary Abortions

 Alaska      Court Order
 Arkansas  X    
 Colorado  X    
 Delaware  X    
 Florida  X    
 Hawaii      Voluntarily
 Illinois      Court Order
 Iowa  X  Fetal Abnormality  
 Kentucky  X    
 Maine  X    
 Massachusetts      Court Order
 Minnesota      Court Order
 Missouri  X    
 Nebraska  X    
 New Hampshire  X    
 New Mexico      Court Order
 North Carolina  X    
 Ohio  X    
 Oregon      Court Order
 Rhode Island  X    
 South Dakota  *    
 Texas  X    
 Vermont      Court Order
 Washington      Voluntarily
 Wisconsin  X  Physical Health  
 Total  32 + DC    17

* State only pays for abortions when necessary to protect the woman’s life.

Source: Guttmacher Institute 2009

             Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions

 State

 Consent

 Notification

 Judicial Bypass

 Other Adult Relatives

 Medical Emergency

 Abuse, Assault, Incest or Neglect

 Alaska  ±          
 Arkansas  X    X    X  X
 Colorado    X  X    X  X
 Florida    X  X    X  
 Idaho  X    X    X  X
 Indiana  X    X    X  
 Kansas    X  X    X  X
 Louisiana  X    X    X  
 Michigan  X    X    X  
 Mississippi  Both Parents    X    X  
 Montana    ±        
 Nevada    ±      X  
 New Mexico  ±          
 North Dakota  Both Parents    X    X  
 Oklahoma  X  X  X    X  X
 Rhode Island  X    X      
 South Dakota    X  X    X  
 Texas  X    X    X  
 Virginia  X    X  X  X  X
 Wisconsin  X*    X*  X  X  X
 Total  27  16 34 6  33 14 

Source: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/aborlaws.htm

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Often SANE programs go unnoticed and unpraised for their efforts. Most people would tell you that its not really polite conversation to talk about the needs for such programs.  

But the Chicago Tribune recently published an article about a SANE program in cook county. There is a phenominal qoute in the article by Tom Fleming Jr of the Park Forest Police department:

“We know that a SANE nurse who is trained in evidence collection has done the correct work for us,” he said. “Our goal is to not have a trial. Our goal is to get a confession from that offender. And we’re best equipped to do that with medical evidence. If we can do that, if we can get an offender to take a plea and not go to trial, then we’ve served that victim right at that very moment.”

Read the Full Article here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-sex-assault-treatment-sw-zon.ar0apr08,0,7944054.story

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Just a reminder to those of you who have or are planing to signup for the SANE-A training course in May 2009. There is a exam testing date on October 25. 2009 in Atlanta.  This is immedately following the 17th Annual Scientific Assembly  of the IAFN.

Current Exam sites:

City

State 

Site Location (changes in Red)
Anchorage AK Providence Alaska Medical Center
Flagstaff  AZ Northern Arizona Healthcare
Scottsdale AZ Scottsdale Community College
San Diego CA Scripps Mercy Hospital
Burlingame CA Peninsula Medical Center
Burbank  CA Providence St. Joseph Med. Ctr.
Walnut Creek CA John Muir Medical Center
Denver  CO University of Colorado Hospital
Hartford CT Hartford Hospital
Newark DE Christiana Care Health System
Pompano Beach  FL North Broward Med. Ctr.
Longwood  FL South Seminole Hospital
St. Augustine FL Flagler Hospital
Atlanta  GA St Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta
Savannah GA Memorial Health University Medical Center
Honolulu HI St. Francis Hospital
Chicago IL Metro Chicago Healthcare Council
Indianapolis IN Methodist Hospital
Ft. Wayne  IN Parkview Hospital
Baton Rouge  LA Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
Baltimore  MD Mercy Medical Center
Framingham MA MassBay Community College
Lansing  MI Ingham Regional Medical Center
St. Paul  MN Regions Hospital
Great Falls  MT Benefis Healthcare
Kansas City MO Research Medical Center
Chesterfield  MO St. Luke’s Hospital CONTACT
Great Falls  MO Benefis Healthcare
Omaha  NE Childrens Hospital
Freehold  NJ Centra State Medical Center
Albuquerque NM Kaseman Presbyterian Hospital
Stony Brook  NY SUNY Stony Brook
New York NY Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing
Williamsville NY Erie Community College-North Campus
Charlotte  NC Presbyterian School of Nursing
Wilmington  NC New Hanover Health Network
Blue Ash  OH Raymond Walters College
Cleveland OH Metro Health Medical Center
Oklahoma City  OK Integris Baptist Medical Center
Portland  OR Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center
Bensalem PA Holy Family College -Woodhaven
Pittsburgh  PA Comm. College of Allegheny Cnty
Columbia  SC Palmetto Health Baptist
Memphis  TN Methodist Hospital
Nashville TN VA Medical Center, ACRE Building
Dallas  TX Baylor University
Houston TX St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital
San Antonio TX University Hospital
Salt Lake City  UT LDS Hospital
Alexandria  VA Inova Mt. Vernon Hospital
Virginia Beach  VA Medical Careers Institute
Charlottesville  VA University of Virginia Health System
Richmond VA Henrico Doctors Hospital-Forest Campus
Seattle  WA UWMC - Roosevelt
Spokane  WA Spokane Community College
Tacoma**  WA St. Joseph Medical Center
Milwaukee  WI Froedtert Hospital 

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North Georgia College, on of the partners in the upcoming Adult SANE Training  at Northside Hospital Forysth in May 2009, is announcing another training opportunity.

Course: The Investigation of Mass Fatalities & Human Identification

When: March 16-17 2009

Where: North Geogia College campus

Overview: Topics to be covered will be mass fatality incident response, processing and management of mass fatality scenes, critical stress management for responders, human facial reconstruction, DNA applications for human identification, and forensic odontological identification methodologies.

Learn from experts who have worked at many major national and international disasters as they share their first-hand experiences and explain how this information can benefit you in your daily work.

Presenters:

Human Facial Reconstruction
Mary Manhein
Professor Mary H. Manhein will discuss the role of the forensic
anthrolopologist in a mass fatality event and the utilization of digital
resources in the identification of skeletonized human remains.
Manhein has handled more than 1,000 forensic cases and works with
law enforcement agencies all over the country. She is the author of
The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist and Trail of Bones.
Manhein has over 27 years of experience as a forensic anthropologist.
She is also the director of the FACES Lab at Louisiana State University,
director of the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing
Persons Information Program, and professional in residence at LSU.

Mass Fatality Incident & Scene Management
Cotton Howell
Cotton Howell will give insight into all facets of command and
control of mass fatality events. Howell has been deployed to
numerous recent disasters such as the floods in North Carolina,
Egypt Air crash, Alaska Air crash, the World Trade Center on
Sept. 11, 2001, the crematory incident in Georgia in 2002, and
Hurricane Katrina. He has been featured in the Discovery Channel
documentary on disaster response teams.
Howell is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and has been the
director of the York County (SC) Office of Emergency Management
since 1983. He is a registered nurse and a member of the
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, of
which he is the commander of DMORT Region 4.

Mass Fatalities & Post-mortem Dental Examination
Dr. Richard A. Weems
Dr. Richard A. Weems will discuss dental identification in a major
loss of life event. He will share his experience in conducting dental
identification at the site of the World Trade Center disaster.
Weems is a forensic odontologist and assistant professor of
dentistry at UAB. He has been a dental consultant to the Alabama
Department of Forensic Sciences since 1987. In this time, he has
investigated over 100 cases involving criminal human bitemark
analysis and victim identification through dental remains resulting
from homicide and accidental death.
Critical Incident Stress and PTSD
Dr. Grady Bray
Dr. Grady Bray brings over 30 years of experience to the lectern
regarding critical stress debriefing of police, fire, and emergency
workers at the scenes of mass fatality events. Additionally, Bray
possesses a unique expertise in the recognition and diagnosis of
PTSD in mass fatality workers.
Bray established the Family Assistance and Training program for
Kenyon International Emergency Services, where he served as vice
president from 2000 to 2006. During this period, he responded to
many major world disasters, including the 9/11 attacks on the World
Trade Center, the tsunami in Thailand, Hurricane Katrina, and the
Helios Airways crash in Athens, Greece.
HAZMAT and Bio Terrorism Response
FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit
Experts from the FBI’s Hazardous Material Response Unit (HMRU)
will address attendees regarding federal response and coordination in
the event of chemical and bio-hazard fatalities. The HMRU responds
to criminal acts and incidents that involve hazardous materials. The
unit also develops technical proficiency and readiness for crime
scene and evidence-related operations in cases involving chemical,
biological, and radiological materials and wastes, as well as training
US and international law enforcement in these skills.
Applications of DNA for Human Identification
Dr. Mark Wilson
Dr. Mark Wilson will discuss identification through the utilization
of state of the art DNA techniques. Wilson is an internationally
recognized expert on the topic of mitochondrial DNA and human
identification. He is also the director of the forensic science program
at Western Carolina University. Wilson is a retired special agent in
charge with the FBI’s DNA Laboratory.

Full Brochure Download: http://www.theforensicnurse.com/FS_NGSCU_2-10-09.pdf

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Northside Hospital in coordination with TheForensicNurse.com and North Georgia College is offering a 40 hour Adult / Adolescent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Training at Northside Hospital Forsyth, located just outside of Atlanta Georgia.

The SANE program at Northside hospital has grown from infancy to one of the most highly respected in the state of Georgia. They not only service Forsyth county, but serveral of the other surrounding counties at well. The program also is the only facility in the state that uses the SDFI telemedicine system for advanced digital forensic evidence collection.

Class Information: 

 Date: May 18 - May 22 (5 days)

Location:

1200 Northside Forsyth Drive

Cumming GA, 30041

Cost: $350.00

Registration Website: http://www.theforensicnurse.com/atlanta_georgia_sane_training.cfm

Northside Hospital is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Georgia Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Centers Commission on Accredidation.

Course Material Outline

  • Overview and History of Forensic Nursing
  • Myths and Barriers
  • Rape Trauma Syndrome
  • Roles of SANES
  • Continuum of Care
  • Crime Lab Kit
  • Photography
  • Medical Forensic History
  • Head to Toe Assessment
  • Genital Anatomy / Variations
  • STD’s
  • Trauma Identification
  • Death Investigation
  • Evidence Collection
  • Serology & DNA Analysis
  • Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault
  • Multi Disciplinary Team Concept
  • Advocate / Police Roles
  • Profiling of Sex Offenders
  • Special Populations
  • Sexual Assault / Domestic Violence
  • Clinical Requirements
  • Documentation and Testimony
  • Expert Witness Testimony
  • Judicial System and Laws

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The IAFN, has selected Atlanta GA for its 2009 Annual Scientific Assembly. This event is held each year around the country to help spread the word about forensic nursing and give participants and exhibitors the opportunity to network and learn more about the latest trends and best practices for Forensic Nursing.

This four day event will be held on October 21-24, 2009.

For Hotel information in the area or flight arrangements: http://www.findnearbyhotels.com/DESTINATIONS/Atlanta_GA_US/

Northside Hospital Forsyth is also offering a 5day / 40 hour SANE-A training class in May 2009.

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Police in Hollywood Florida today announced that Ottis Toole who had long been the primary suspect in the murder of Adam Walsh. John Walsh the boy’s father came to nation attention back in 1981 as he pleaded and worked with police to find his son.

Fisherman discovered the decapitated head of Adam walsh in a river over 120 miles away from where the boy was abducted. The remains of his body have still not been found to this day.

Police were riduculed for their repeated bungling of the case and the case evidence. The bloodstained carpeting found in Toole’s car that would have provided DNA evidence to tie him to the case was lost.

Following his son’s death, John walsh became obsessed with finding his son’s murderer and helping to be sure that other children and families didnt have to endure what he had gone through. 

He gained national attention when he starred in the America’s Most Wanted television show in the 1980s’. After serveral years of hosting the show and testifying to congress, the Adam Walsh Child Protecion Act was passed.

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