Funds Delivered for Rape Treatment Clinic

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) toured Mission Community Hospital on Friday and delivered a check for $500,000 to be used to create the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. The state Legislature approved funding for the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) last month.

“Right now, sexual assault victims have to be treated in downtown L.A.,” Katz said. “It’s clear that the Valley is a central location where victims can get the treatment they need and investigators will be able to collect the evidence.”

About 500 rapes were reported in the Valley last year.

Advocates for the victims of sexual assault say team programs, composed of social workers, doctors, nurses and police, increase the speed and efficiency of treatment for rape victims. Currently, many victims must wait in emergency rooms--sometimes several hours--while other injured or ill patients are treated.

Earlier this week, questions were raised about the quality of treatment received by victims of sexual assault. According to deputies, a 4-year-old girl who had been assaulted by her 12-year-old cousin was kept waiting 90 minutes in the emergency room of Lancaster Community Hospital. Deputies also allege that the child was treated roughly by the examining doctor.

But Dr. Christine Daniel, who attended the child, said the examination was delayed because a hospital policy requires the presence of a nurse from the Sexual Assault Response Team. Daniel said she treated others in the busy emergency room while waiting for the nurse to arrive.

“The events in Lancaster show just how critical this program is for victims,” Katz said. “We need to do whatever we can to help rape victims, and SART is a great first step. Women should not have to be victimized a second time once they reach the hospital because of bureaucratic red tape.”