CATRAC News
JCH
Emergency department manager receives award
Evangeline
Barefoot
RN,BSN,CEN,CA-CP,SANE, CFN, SANE-A,CMI-II received the Edith Rust
Medical Services award from the Texas
Association Against Sexual
Assault.
TAASA
is a statewide organization made of advocates, rape crisis centers,
SANE programs and district attorney’s offices that work
together to bring legislation and improved services for sexual assault
victims and their families.
Edith
Rust was a registered nurse working at Northeast Hospital in Amarillo.
In 1978, she began the first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program in
Texas. At that time there were only two other programs in the United
States. Rust built her program over the years and it expanded across
Texas, the nation, and in the past 10 years, across the world. She
recognized the need for compassionate and timely care for victims of
sexual assault.
Ms. Barefoot,
whom the Williamson County Sexual Assualt Team nominated, is considered
one of the pioneers of SANE nursing in Williamson County. For the past
19 years she has received recognition as a diligent nurse in the
county. In 1993 she co-founded the Williamson County SANE program,
based out of Johns Community Hospital in Taylor. In an effort to boost
the number of practitioners in Williamson County, the program was
supported by fundraising efforts by the Williamson County Sexual
Assault Response Team and donations. With her efforts the county
provided $18,000 to send nurses for training.
In 2006, Ms. Barefoot received a generous donation to buy a new, state-of-the-art colposcope and offered to donate the hospital’s retired colposcope to a new SANE program in need.
Her
expertise is widely recognized. She has been a guest speaker in
forensic nursing and is a SANE instructor for the Texas Attorney
General’s Office. In April 2008, she was honored at the
Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center for her services
provided.
One of
Ms. Barefoot’s long-term goals was to have other hospitals employ
SANE nurses. In 2007, two new hospitals opened in Williamson County,
providing administrative support and certified SANE nurses. The three
SANE coordinators joined forces and expanded SANE services for the
county.
With Ms. Barefoot as the lead coordinator, they have created a strong cohesive team working closely with the SART and meeting the latest standards in forensic nursing practice and technology. When the anonymous reporting for forensic examinations came into place Jan. 5, 2008, the team was ready to maintain compliance.
Portions of the above text appeared in the Taylor Daily Press on March 19, 2009.