Debbie Morris, right, director of nursing at Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day, talks with nurse Brandi Grove at the hospital.

Blue Mountain Hospital is taking on one of the toughest challenges facing Oregon hospitals today: a severe shortage of qualified sexual assault nurse examiners.

Two nurses at Grant County’s only hospital — Amber Auty and Joelle George — are training to become certified SANEs, the shorthand term for the medical professionals who perform rape exams. Debbie Morris, the hospital’s director of nursing, expects that both women will have completed their training and be able to start performing the exams within the next several months.

The need is dire.

Blue Mountain Hospital has been without a certified SANE nurse on staff since the beginning of 2021, which means that victims of sexual violence who come to the hospital seeking a rape exam must be referred elsewhere. At the moment, the nearest facility that can do the exam is St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, a three-hour drive from John Day — a six-hour round trip. In order to preserve evidence that could be used to prosecute the attacker, survivors are told not to eat, drink, shower or use the bathroom until after the exam is completed.

Faced with the prospect of traveling halfway across the state to get a grueling forensic examination, some sexual assault victims decide that’s more than they can bear. They make the choice to skip the exam. In some cases, that can mean the perpetrator escapes justice and remains free to assault more victims.

Grant County is hardly alone in this situation. As we reported last week, there are only about 100 certified sexual assault nurse examiners in the entire state. In all of Northeast Oregon, there are only 16 medical professionals qualified to perform rape exams, and only three are state-certified. Of the 16 SANE nurses in the region, 15 are concentrated in Union and Umatilla counties. Wallowa County has one, and three counties in Northeast Oregon — Grant, Morrow and Baker — have none at all.

Recruiting for these positions is an enormous challenge. Hospitals are already dealing with a widespread nursing shortage, and many nurses are unwilling to take on the additional and emotionally draining responsibility of being on call to do rape exams.

The director of the Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force has called on the state to provide additional resources to ease the shortage. That would certainly help. But ultimately, it comes down to finding medical professionals who are ready to shoulder the burden of helping sexual assault victims through one of the most traumatic experiences anyone will ever have to face.

Our hats are off to Joelle George and Amber Auty for stepping up to provide this vital service for their community — and to Debbie Morris and the leadership of Blue Mountain Hospital for making it a priority to have SANE nurses on staff once again.

Where to get help

If you’ve been sexually assaulted, call the 24-hour Heart of Grant County crisis line at 541-620-1342. A counselor can speak with you confidentially about your experience, explain your options for medical care and reporting, and offer information on additional resources.