TYLER, Texas — Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County received over $25,000 from the Texas Bar Association to fund equipment for the nonprofit's second medical examination room.
The gift will allow the CACSC to outfit this medical space and give opportunities for future growth of the Sexual Assault Nurse Exam program. CACSC seeks to protect and restore the lives of abused children through its services.
A SANE exam can uncover injuries, sexually transmitted diseases and non-related medical issues since many clients don't receive "adequate medical care from an advanced medical provider," the children's advocacy center said.
"It is also beneficial for the child to stay in one child-friendly location and not have to travel to an emergency room designed for adults and with all the activity that is associated with emergency care," CACSC said in a statement.
CACSC started offering non-emergency (or nonacute) SANE exams inside the center in 2015, but children needing emergency (or acute) examinations continued to be directed to one of two hospitals in Smith County that offered the service. The long term goal was to expand the services to include both forms of the SANE exam.
The nonprofit began conducting the acute exams in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health of the child while also freeing up space for emergency rooms at the time. After this, the CACSC continued to conduct both nonacute and acute exams for the kids to remain in a child-friendly, less traumatic environment.
Last year, the CACSC moved into an expanded facility, located at 3015 South SE Loop 323 in Tyler, that has added more medical exams, complete with a private waiting room, two examination rooms, shower, washer and dryer and two nurse offices.
Money from the Texas Bar Foundation grant will fund equipment and supplies needed to conduct two SANE exams at the same time to better meet the needs of the CACSC’s growing services.