Herrera-Aguilera is a mother of five who feels an emotional connection to the job at
hand. Although she didn’t set out to become a SANE nurse, after spending five years in the
Emergency Center, she was compelled to take the state training to be certified to work
with abuse victims. She’s helped hundreds of children since joining the team in 2008, and
some cases leave an indelible memory.
She still becomes emotional when speaking about a 4-year-old girl she examined and
documented for signs of sexual abuse in 2009.
“Two months after we saw her here in the Emergency
Center, she was killed by the perpetrator,”
Herrera-Aguilera
said.
“While nothing we could have done would have
prevented that, she still stays with me, even today.”
Most of the time, a child’s attacker is a member of the family, a friend or an acquaintance.
Regardless of the perpetrator’s relationship to the child, the SANE nurses’ priority is first
and foremost to help the young victims feel safe and protected when they arrive at Texas
Children’s Emergency Center.
“We’re basically helping young patients at the worst moment of their lives,”
Kerr said. “Children are so resilient even when they’ve been through
so much.”
Since SANE began, its scope has broadened. Today, its nurses conduct forensic
photography of children who are victims of sexual assault and those who suffer from
neglect, non-accidental trauma and physical abuse.
Peer review is an important element of the program. Each time a nurse conducts a case,
it is reviewed by a peer, the nurse specialist leader and finally by the medical director to
make sure the findings are accurate and every step is taken to protect the child involved.
Four times a year, the team also conducts peer review sessions where they present cases,
discuss plans of care and then review images used in the cases.
T
“Our work is about helping children as quickly as
possible, with as little trauma as possible, while
collecting the necessary evidence,”
Parazynski said.
“It all
comes down to advocating for children.They’re the
ones who aren’t able to speak for themselves.”
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