By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Don’t be surprised when you next visit a Hays Medical Center clinic and a health care professional asks you: “Has anyone hurt you? Hit you? Threatened you? Are you in a safe environment?”
Carol Groen, HaysMed nurse and manager of accreditation, certifications and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program, said the questions have been required at the hospital for years, but recently have been implemented at HaysMed clinics to help identify abuse victims of all ages.
“Asking these questions is the first part of awareness in trying to get patients to understand we are here to help them,” Groen said. “It creates a sense of awareness to the families that we are looking out, that we are asking.”
Groen said if an adult answers yes to any of the questions, police will not be called unless the victim wants to report the abuse — but it is the first step in referring the victim to resources for help.
Jessica Albers, nurse and SANE examiner, said the abuse screening questions are critical and should be incorporated in every hospital and clinic.
“If we are able to identify someone, maybe not the first time or the second time they are coming into their health care provider for a medical issue, maybe the fourth or fifth time, after they have developed a relationship with that doctor or nurse, they might feel more comfortable in sharing the information,” Albers said.
Groen added they understand a child or an elderly person would be less likely to answer the questions truthfully if the abuser was in the room. However, is child under the age of 18 or a senior is suspected to be a victim of abuse, a health care worker will look for additional behavior signs and could ask the parent or caretaker to leave the room. Social workers also are at the ready should further evaluation be required.
If abuse is suspected in the case of a child under 18 or a senior, Groen said, health care professionals are required to call law enforcement to investigate.
Both Groen and Ablers travel to hospitals across the region encouraging the abuse screenings as a part of normal protocol in all clinics and hospitals in northwest Kansas.