HomeMy WebLinkAbout20201110 (KPD celebrates Forensic Nurses Week 2020)
THE COUNTY OF KAUA‘I
DEREK S. K. KAWAKAMI, MAYOR
MICHAEL A. DAHILIG, MANAGING DIRECTOR
News Release
For Immediate Release: November 10, 2020
KAUA‘I POLICE DEPARTMENT
TODD G. RAYBUCK, CHIEF
Tel (808) 241-1600
Fax (808) 241-1604
KPD celebrates Forensic Nurses Week 2020
LĪHU‘E – Kaua‘i police held a special ceremony on Monday in celebration of Forensic
Nurses Week, which occurs Nov. 9-13, 2020. The Kaua‘i Police Department’s five forensic
nurses–Jennifer Antony, Stephanie Huhn, Marlo Alaipalelei, Charlene Ono and Ceisha Judd–
were honored with certificates and their work was paid tribute to by a number of people,
including Chief of Police Todd G. Raybuck, Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami and Council Chair
Arryl Kaneshiro.
“Kaua‘i is unique because there are so many dedicated individuals from nurses, law
enforcement officers and prosecutors, to professionals from the Children’s Justice Center, Child
Welfare Services and the YWCA, who help victims of sexual assault,” said Antony during the
ceremony. “I’m so thankful that we have a team like this at KPD—many communities don’t. We
wouldn’t be able to do what we do without one another and I feel gratitude towards being able to
be a part of such an extraordinary team.”
Forensic Nurses Week is designated to recognize the dedicated nurses who provide
exceptional care to patients impacted by violence, abuse and trauma. Forensic nurses work to
increase victim-centered care and mitigate violence through public health strategies with both
offender and victim. Forensic nurses are highly educated professionals that continue to meet
the increasingly complex forensic and healthcare needs of individuals, families, communities,
populations and systems worldwide. Although many forensic nurses work in the emergency
department of acute care hospitals, others practice at child and family advocacy centers,
correctional or psychiatric facilities, coroner and medical examiner offices, or international
humanitarian organizations. Forensic nurses also provide consultation and testimony for civil
and criminal proceedings.
The nurses at KPD are also part of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program,
which provides a number of ways for a victim of sexual assault to feel safer by allowing them to
be treated in a private exam room at the Līhuʽe headquarters. This gives the patient not only the
ability to be directly in touch with the detectives and nurses who work as a specially trained
team for these incidents, it provides victims with the kind of privacy and confidentiality that they
might not otherwise receive in a hospital setting.
Also honored during Monday’s ceremony were students of Waimea and Kamehameha
high schools. The group of students, led by former KPD forensic nurse, Ranelle Ka‘awa,
donated Beloved Bundles care bags, made possible by the nonprofit, Project Beloved, that are
provided to victims of sexual assault and filled with items like toothbrushes, clothes and
journals.
After receiving an examination by a SANE nurse at KPD, oftentimes a victim’s
belongings are used for evidence. The Beloved Bundles provide survivors with necessities, as
well as the kind of comfort that is needed following a traumatic event.
“The answer to stopping sexual assault and abuse is not telling girls or women what to
wear or how to behave, for example, it’s about stopping the problem at its source. What these
students did for their community by helping victims of sexual assault heal is, in turn, facilitating
their personal growth and helping them mature and understand what it means to respect other
people,” said Antony.
To learn more about the kind of services that KPD’s forensic nurses provide, please visit
www.kauai.gov/police.
Various photos of Monday’s celebration of Forensic Nurses Week 2020.
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