State aids sexual assault victims
Terri Fyfe
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: News
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Kentucky protection for sexual assault and rape victims has been ruled insufficient, according to attorney general Greg Stumbo's opinion released last month.
Now sexual assault victims needing treatment, beyond what the Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Fund's allotted $550 can provide, cannot be forced to pay the additional expenses, according to the statement.
The allotted amount reimbursed the following: $200 for a medical screening, $250 for the use of the facility and $100 for medication and pharmaceuticals.
Before, if the victim's expenses went beyond the allotted amount, the hospital could bill the victim or the victim's private insurance.
The needs and the expenses a patient may incur depend greatly upon each case, based on individual injuries sustained, said Connie Johnson, an emergency department clinical manager and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center.
The more treatment and medication required, the increased risk of the victim being charged, she said.
However, victims needing additional treatment or medication not covered by the previously allotted SAVAF amount are rare, Johnson said.
Despite whether or not the victim can afford treatment, hospitals such as Pattie A. Clay still provide the victim with all services needed or wanted, including information on counseling, she said.
Since Pattie A. Clay first established a sexual assault program in September 2004, 27 patients have been given exams, Johnson said.
"The patients (at the hospital) get any treatment they require," she said. "We're patient advocates and the billing comes in later."
Under current Pattie A. Clay policy, if counseling or further financial assistance is needed, the victim can apply for additional SAVAF funding. The Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center also provides counseling, Johnson said.
Medical attention becomes the top priority when police are notified of a victim who has been sexually assaulted on campus, Campus Police Chief Mark Welker said.
Now sexual assault victims needing treatment, beyond what the Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Fund's allotted $550 can provide, cannot be forced to pay the additional expenses, according to the statement.
The allotted amount reimbursed the following: $200 for a medical screening, $250 for the use of the facility and $100 for medication and pharmaceuticals.
Before, if the victim's expenses went beyond the allotted amount, the hospital could bill the victim or the victim's private insurance.
The needs and the expenses a patient may incur depend greatly upon each case, based on individual injuries sustained, said Connie Johnson, an emergency department clinical manager and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center.
The more treatment and medication required, the increased risk of the victim being charged, she said.
However, victims needing additional treatment or medication not covered by the previously allotted SAVAF amount are rare, Johnson said.
Despite whether or not the victim can afford treatment, hospitals such as Pattie A. Clay still provide the victim with all services needed or wanted, including information on counseling, she said.
Since Pattie A. Clay first established a sexual assault program in September 2004, 27 patients have been given exams, Johnson said.
"The patients (at the hospital) get any treatment they require," she said. "We're patient advocates and the billing comes in later."
Under current Pattie A. Clay policy, if counseling or further financial assistance is needed, the victim can apply for additional SAVAF funding. The Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center also provides counseling, Johnson said.
Medical attention becomes the top priority when police are notified of a victim who has been sexually assaulted on campus, Campus Police Chief Mark Welker said.
