In a special meeting this morning at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) hosted “Rape Kit Responsibility – The impact of Senate Bill 1191.” The educational event was attended by more than 150 healthcare employees from across North Texas.

Presenters included Sen. Wendy Davis, who discussed her motivation behind passing SB 1191, which was enacted into law and became effective Sept. 1. Courtney Underwood, co-founder of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center and executive director of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) Initiative, introduced Davis.

Judy Commons, RN and Sen. Wendy Davis

Speakers included SANE Nurses Judy Commons, RN, CEN, CPEN and Renee’ Donald, BSN, RN, CEN, who hosted a special breakout session for hospital clinicians. Mike Gibson, a partner with Burleson, Pate & Gibson, LLP, discussed the legal implications of collecting rape evidence. Representing Children at Risk, Staff Attorney Suma Ananthaswamy provided information on the telltale signs of sexual trafficking victims seeking treatment from hospitals.

“We hope this meeting assisted the North Texas hospital workforce in learning more about the important responsibility of treating sexual assault survivors,” said W. Stephen Love, president/CEO of DFWHC. “This meeting is an example of our hospitals continuing to take the extra step to provide an important social responsibility to the community.”

To read the press release Sen. Davis’s office distributed following the event, please click here.