CASART clinic for sexual violence survivors offering a more peaceful experience at Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence

Transforming practices is somewhat of a modus operandi these days for the CACAC and its partner organizations in the sector of helping victims and survivors, younger and older alike.

Look no further than the Transforming Practices Conference the CACAC hosted last week at Red Deer Polytechnic, which was attended by close to 500 people.

Mark Jones, CEO at the CACAC, notes the conference pulled together people from various sectors, including victim services, child maltreatment, policing, and many others, all with the goal of ensuring the work being done in this area is accomplished in a trauma-informed way.

“One of the fastest growing crimes in North America is child exploitation and human trafficking. We think it’s important people understand what those are, how to identify them, and what to do if you expect someone is being exploited,” he said.

“The conference brought all that information to the forefront, so that people can be armed and ready to be able to address the problem [when they see it].”

Back to CASART, which at the centre, operates out of the Truant Family Medical Suite.

CASART offers victims of sexual violence the benefit of a response within one hour of their arrival at the hospital or the Centre of Excellence; it simply requires a call ahead to the hospital, at 403-343-4444, where one would then simply ask for a SART nurse.

Though the most possible is done at the hospital to make patients comfortable, what the alternative location offers is a more serene, peaceful, and sometimes more dignifying place for victims or clients to be in the aftermath of a traumatizing incident.

At the clinic, which is staffed by 10 on-call nurses between it and the hospital, there’s a state-of-the-art examination room, privacy, and all the comforts one could need in such a scenario.

If a patient presents there, staff are able to remotely connect with the appropriate medical resources at the hospital, and go the hospital with someone if more extensive treatment is necessary.

Ronnie Biletsky, CASART clinical nurse educator and program lead, says being able to open a location at the Centre of Excellence addresses the fact they don’t have a designated space at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

“When we see patients there, there are overhead noises, patients get overstimulated, and the area is not conducive for trauma-informed care. We’ve done our best with what we have there, but space is definitely limited,” she says. “One thing we found immediately upon coming here is that the environment is different, and that means when a patient comes in, they are calmer as a result.”

CASART program lead Ronnie Biletsky and therapy pup Carter. (Supplied/AHS)

The clinic is compact, but that’s a good thing because at the hospital, a patient will often need to move from one space to another multiple times.

It’s all about decreasing the barriers for patients who find themselves in often horrifyingly vulnerable situations.

The clinic offers a washroom stocked with amenities, plus a bright, welcoming meeting space where patients relax with therapy dog Carter, and the examination room, where comfort is number one.

There’s also a chest for patients to take a pair of warm socks or a new journal, for example; that’s not to mention the private entrance which leads up a stairway bearing messages of encouragement.

What’s more is the site at the Centre of Excellence means easier collaboration with the CACAC and the Sendero Centre, meaning greater consistency for patients in terms of the health care professionals they see as they’re referred from one organization to the next for latter steps of the reporting and medical process.

Unfortunately, only six per cent of sexual violence victims actually report the assault to police, says Biletsky, and that makes it the most underreported crime measured in the General Social Survey on Victimization, Statistics Canada, 2019.

“The Central Alberta Sexual Assault Response Team is committed to delivering exceptional care for those who are experiencing sexual assault. The clinic is an alternate site that can be used for patients who are medically appropriate for this site,” she says.

According to program data, 29 per cent of patients seen are ages 14-19, with anyone over 12 being seen for an exam directly by a CASART nurse. Those 11 and under first receive a pediatrician’s consult.

In the clinic’s first six months, which saw them gradually move to 24 hours/day service, they’ve seen 25 patients. During the same span, the location at the hospital saw another 68, for a total of 93 since Dec. 2.

To learn more, visit albertahealthservices.ca.

by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

CASART clinic for sexual violence survivors offering a more peaceful experience at Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence

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