The ability to get a rape kit administered from a properly-trained nurse might soon be a resource available for survivors of sexual assault in Mount Pleasant.

Funding has been identified for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program in Mount Pleasant by community officials who hope to have the program restored by the summer of 2016.

SANE programs exist to conduct forensic exams to obtain evidence for survivors who might want to file criminal charges. According to CMU’s annual security and fire safety report, victims should not change their clothes, shower or alter their physical state in another way before the examination.

Before it is restored, the 11 McLaren Central Michigan nurses who want to be certified sexual assault nurse examiners have to complete in-depth training.

Mount Pleasant had Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner services until 2012, when Women’s Aid Service lost grant funding. Women’s Aid tried to run the program without grant funding, but costs were too high and the service was discontinued in 2013. The group estimated a start-up cost of $30,000 and an annual cost of $15,000-20,000.

Julia Stier is a Central Michigan University senior and president of the Organization of Women Leaders works in the McLaren cafeteria. She has asked staff why the hospital doesn’t have any certified nurse examiners.

“I think it’s messed up that McLaren (in Mount Pleasant) doesn’t have a SANE nurse," Stier said. “It’s a college campus. With sexual assaults happening so often on college campuses, I think it should be mandatory that they have (SANEs) at all hospitals, especially near colleges.”

Ten rapes were reported at CMU in 2014, according to CMU’s annual security and fire safety report, while 18 were reported in Mount Pleasant, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A National Crime Victimization Survey special report on victimizations not reported to the police in 2006-2010 found that 65 percent of sexual assaults go unreported. Though this figure varies by study, numerous studies show sexual assault is underreported, especially on college campuses.

In Mount Pleasant, a survivor of sexual assault might have to travel 45 minutes to an hour to receive a certified medical examination in Midland, Lansing or Grayling. CMUPD will transport victims to get a certified exam in another location.

During the 45 minute drive to Midland to have a 4 hour exam completed within 120 hours of the assault, Brooke Huber, the Sexual Response Team Coordinator for Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe said, the victim might give up on getting the examination. But without the examination, the prosecutor might not have the necessary medical evidence for a successful prosecution.

“In the investigation of sexual assaults, the SANE examination is a crucial part of the evidence which can be obtained for successful prosecutions and is noted as the best practice for investigators and in federal Title IX legislation,” CMU Police Lt. Larry Klaus said.

Midland shares its two certified nurses with Bay City, so the nurses are not always available to see all patients, said Brooke Huber, the Sexual Assault Response Team Coordinator for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

The victim can get a rape kit done in Mount Pleasant, but it might not stand up in court.

A community group made up of people from McLaren Central Michigan, Women’s Aid Services, the CMU Police, CMU Sexual Assault Services, CMU Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Sexual Assault Response Team began meeting monthly in 2014 to address this issue.

Originally, the Tribe and CMU were going to pursue the issue separately, but decided to collaborate and do something that would benefit anyone, not just select populations. The group agreed that a community the size of Mount Pleasant with a large number of students needs SANE services.

To assess need, they collected data from various organizations such as reports made to CMU, law enforcement and medical facilities. The community demonstrates a need for the services, not only because of the additional population from college students, but because the most commonly victimized age group is ages 18-24, Huber said. However, federal funding is usually given to higher population areas because there is more evidence of crime there, she said.

The Sexual Assault Response Team of the Tribe has allocated some of its grant funds to support the start-up of the program. McLaren will take on the cost of office space, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Sexual Assault Response Team and CMU will provide funding for general operations of the program, Huber said, including on-call compensation for nurses, exam compensation and training fees. The exam will be free and confidential. Survivors will not have to bill their insurance.

Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Barrie Wilkes said when the community group asked people in the community, including CMU, for funding, he thought CMU "absolutely" had to help fund the program.

He said doesn't know the exact amount CMU will be providing yet, but right now it will come out of the Finance and Administrative Services division budget.

"We shouldn't require an individual to travel an hour or more and wait," Wilkes said. "It's a service the community should be providing."

The group will work with Isabella County and the city of Mount Pleasant to establish a more sustainable funding model and transition from grant funding, Klaus said.

Klaus said the certified nurse examiner collects evidence of the assault, conducts an exam for any sexually transmitted diseases and provides access to medication. Each nurse must complete a 40 hours of online training that teaches them how to collect and preserve evidence, act as a witness in a trial and provide victim-centered care. The nurses then must complete an on-site training, which has not been scheduled yet.

Huber said this certified medical examination is a crucial step in getting long term care for victims, in terms of legal, physical and mental care.

In 2014, Huber was hired to develop a Sexual Assault Response Team for the Tribe but was missing one of the most important pieces: the medical response.

“We should be coordinating, rather than simply referring victims to other places (like Midland),” she said.