STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

It was fitting that some 50 Blaine County Commissioners, law enforcement officers, Advocates staff and hospital staff gathered in Hailey’s Hope Garden on a sunny spring morning this week.

After all, they were there to offer survivors of sexual assault hope—hope of healing and hope that Blaine County organizations were doing what they can to stop sexual assault.

At the center of the gathering was an acknowledgement that St. Luke's Wood River has partnered with Penn State University's SAFE-T System--Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth—to provide expert sexual assault forensic exams 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the Wood River Valley.

"This (sexual assault) crisis has no boundaries," said Angela Brady. "We or someone we know will experience this trauma."

No more sending survivors to Twin Falls or Boise for exams at distant facilities.

"For survivors of sexual assault, the ability to receive timely, respectful and expert care locally can make a profound difference," said Angela Brady, RN, Associate Chief Nursing Officer at St. Luke's Wood River. "Through the SAFE-T System, we're able to surround patients with compassion and expertise right here at St. Luke's, meeting them where they are, honoring their choices, and helping them begin the path toward healing."

The morning opened with Blaine County Commissioner Muffy Davis reading a proclamation forged by county commissioners and The Advocates acknowledging April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Blaine County.

One in four women and nearly one in 33 men nationally and in Blaine County have experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault in their lifetime, she said.

Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback told attendees that April is a time for us to think about what we can do to prevent sexual assault.

Matt Fredback, Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney, pushed the statistics further: "Over 50 percent of women and one in three men experience sexual violence during their lifetime. If you really think about what that number means, it is an astounding statistic. It points to how every single one of us and every single member in our community is touched in some way by sexual violence. Whether that's your neighbors, friends, family, employers--it's all of us."

The gathering in Hope Garden did not happen in a vacuum. It grew from decades of community investment in this issue, said Tricia Swartling, who oversees The Advocates.

"Thirty-five years ago," she said, "A young woman in our community was being sexually assaulted by a family member. She didn't know where to go. There wasn't obvious help available. So, unfortunately, she took matters into her own hands and she shot her abuser."

A group of concerned community members responded not with judgment, but with action. They founded The Advocates to help that young woman and to be there for others who needed support. Today The Advocates provides crisis intervention, legal advocacy, housing assistance and skills for success programs.

Hailey Police Officer Todd Peck said local police are committed to holding perpetrators accountable.

"We have a really good, professional and compassionate team in our community that is here to support anybody who's sexually assaulted or abused," Swartling said. "We want to make sure that everyone in our community knows there's help available. Call us, and someone will be there to help."

Todd Peck, assistant chief of the Hailey Police Department, said that sexual assaults are crimes that often go unseen, unreported and misunderstood.

“But behind every case there's actually a person, not just a statistic,” he said.

Fredback highlighted the hours of training local law enforcement has invested in trauma-informed interviewing--a significant shift from how these cases were handled in earlier decades. Officers have trained in proper response protocols, investigation techniques and ways to support survivors while building prosecutable cases.

Denim Day, which will be held on Wednesday, was organized after a court ruling overturned a rape conviction because justices felt, since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have implied consent.

"They have really doved in with both feet to try to help victims and make sure we prevent recidivism, at the same time holding offenders accountable," he said.

For years, one of the most significant gaps in local sexual assault response has been access to specialized forensic nursing care.

Matthew Gamet, Laboratory System Director for Idaho State Police Forensic Services, said that Idaho has now trained more than 280 nurses in sexual assault forensic examination, developed sexual assault response teams across the state and invested in rape kit processing and tracking.

"Timely rape kit processing and tracking is critical so justice can be sought for victims in thorough investigations which are aided by accurate and timely forensic science," he said.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANEs, require 40 to 56 hours of coursework to complete initial certification. But certification alone is not enough. It takes many exams, many hours of supervised practice, to become truly proficient.

In a community like the Wood River Valley, where exam frequency is low, maintaining that proficiency has been nearly impossible to sustain.

The Penn State SAFE-T System solves that problem through secure telehealth technology. When survivors come to St. Luke's, local nurses greet them and create a relationship with them, Brady said. Then they connect virtually with a highly experienced, certified SANE nurse at Penn State.

Those experts guide each step of the forensic examination, including evidence collection, documentation and patient communication while the local nurse remains present with the patient.

"This is an innovative 24-7 telehealth solution that ensures our community has trauma-informed care and forensic support," Brady said. “Together we work to provide the best possible care we can, ensuring that the patient can control every aspect from the start to the follow-up.”

The program builds on St. Luke’s Wood River’s collaboration with the Blaine County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), The Advocates, law enforcement, and other community partners. Together, these organizations work to ensure that survivors can receive comprehensive, compassionate support locally—from immediate medical care to advocacy services and follow-up resources.

“We had a sexual assault program for years, but the nurses we would train would move on, and we’d have to send patients to Twin or Boise,” Brady said.

The new system reviews all cases afterwards, provides feedback to local nurses and supports ongoing training, including SANE certification and legal preparation. It also provides emotional support to nurses themselves, who Brady noted are navigating an inherently stressful role while simultaneously supporting patients and families.

"It's an emotional, draining exam," she said. "They're supporting the patient, they're supporting the family. They don't do these exams very often, so it's very stressful."

St. Luke's has implemented the SAFE-T System at its critical access hospitals in Mountain Home, Fruitland, McCall, Jerome and Twin Falls, as well as Ketchum. Care is confidential, patient-centered and designed to support both physical and emotional healing. Professional language services are available for patients who prefer to receive care in a language other than English.

Davis encouraged every resident to speak out when witnessing an incident of sexual assault, no matter how small: "I just want it out there, to let the community know…there is a strong community in this valley that is there to help support you, and you are not alone."