The River Bridge Regional Center opened in 2007 and from the beginning was doing pediatric medical exams onsite to respond to child abuse allegations. 

While River Bridge’s main focus is children, with a multidisciplinary child-centered approach to the prevention, assessment and treatment of child abuse and sexual assault, the nonprofit also runs the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, or SANE, program. 

SANEs are registered nurses, RNs, who are qualified to perform evidentiary exams on sexual assault and rape victims. These nurses are trained in the medical, psychological and forensic examination of sexual assault victims and perform more comprehensive exams. 

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“Valley View Hospital used to have a SANE program but it closed,” said Blythe Chapman, the executive director of the River Bridge Regional Center. “People had to travel to Grand Junction or Frisco to get an exam, mostly Frisco because it’s open 24/7.”

In 2016, a group of people got together to open a new SANE program under the ninth judicial District Attorney’s office, Chapman said, and then it was taken over by River Bridge in 2018. 

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They hired Joni Owens, the medical program coordinator for River Bridge and the Mountain West SANE Alliance, which operates under the umbrella of River Bridge. 

“We offer services to the ninth judicial district: Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Eagle counties,” Owens said. “All services are at no cost to victims.”

To get a sexual assault examination from River Bridge, victims don’t necessarily have to go through the police departments or hospitals – they can be reached through Garfield County Dispatch. 

“Ask for a SANE nurse,” Owens said. “You’ll have to give your name and phone number so River Bridge knows who they’re calling, but you don’t have to give more information than that.”

River Bridge will call and schedule an appointment. At the appointment, they’ll get a brief medical history. 

“Then we’ll ask them to tell us what happened to them,” Owens said. “We guide them through the exam and make a medical treatment plan.”

During the exam, a head-to-toe physical examination is done, looking for injuries such as bruises or abrasions and similar to a gynecologist, will do an outer and inner genitalia exam looking for injuries. 

“Afterwards, we’ll talk about what risks they might have for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and based on that risk assessment, we offer medication to prevent that exposure from becoming an infection,” Owens said. “Sometimes there is refusal because most times the victim knows their perpetrator, they’re mostly not strangers.”

River Bridge also offers pregnancy tests and preventative contraception and they’ll refer the victim to their primary care doctor for a follow up. 

“Sometimes we see someone again to make sure an injury, like a genital injury, has healed,” Owens said. 

Victims don’t need to go to the hospital for this care unless they have an injury beyond the scope of rape, like a broken bone.

“We’re considered a community based service program,” Owens said. “We don’t work out of an emergency room, where there might be lots of other people and the nurse treating a victim can’t focus entirely on them.”

The River Bridge Regional Center says they’ll see anyone regardless of gender identity, language, or economic class. 

“We don’t have bilingual nurses at the moment, but we have a translator,” Owens said. “All our services are free and you don’t have to worry about insurance or lack of it.”

In Colorado, Owens said, adult victims have some legal choices when it comes to sexual assault.

“They can report to law services and get evidence collection or they can do an anonymous report and still get medical services,” Owens said. “Or, they can report but not participate in the investigation.”

Once a victim gets to River Bridge for an exam, they can collect evidence and give them medical care. 

“They might not be ready for a case yet, but we can collect evidence for when the victim is ready,” Owens said. 

Owens said they get about two times as many calls as exams they conduct. 

“We’ve had 37 calls this year and done 20 adult exams,” Owens said. “Even the ones that are reported, only a small percentage will get the medical care they need. We only get a couple of men coming in too.”

Not everyone wants to report to law enforcement, but it doesn’t mean they can’t get the medical care they need for themselves. 

“We also invite advocates from the region where the person lives, we ask for a sexual assault specialist from Advocate Safehouse,” Owens said. “We get them face to face with that advocate so they can be present when the patient arrives.”

Owens said the presence of an advocate increases the follow through to get help after they leave their exam, but not everyone comes to their exam.

“Sometimes we try to call back and reach out if they miss their appointment,” Owens said. “It’s their decision to get the right care at the right time. We don’t want to add any more injury or guilt and we’ll reschedule when they’re ready. Someone took all their control away and we do everything we can to give it right back to them.”

There are mandatory reporting situations in some instances where the nurse has to report to the police. 

“If someone is over the age of 69 or under the age of 18,” Owens said. “If they experienced non-fatal strangulation and lost consciousness, broke a bone or have another major injury, then I have to report it.”

However, Owens said that while she has to report these things to the police, the victim doesn’t need to speak to the police if they don’t want to. 

“We’re not trying to make people talk to the police but we also don’t want to discourage that,” Owens clarified. “Sometimes after people get medical care and speak to us, they feel more comfortable talking to the police once they realize they’ll be believed.”

The River Bridge Regional Center works closely with law enforcement and the surrounding hospitals which is how they’re able to support their examinations costing nothing for the victim. 

“Law enforcement will reimburse us for the medical exam,” said Chapman. “It goes directly to the nurse. If it’s anonymous, we send it to the Sexual Assault Victim Emergency (SAVE) payment program and get reimbursed there.”

Chapman said that although the victim crime funding has been cut, they’ve anticipated that and their partner agencies see the benefit in the River Bridge Regional Center sticking around. 

“Aspen Valley, Grand River and Valley View hospitals committed financial support to the Mountain West SANE Alliance, a total of $53,000 from the three,” Chapman said. “That financial support is what’s keeping us running right now.”

The hospitals themselves don’t have SANE programs running, but by contributing to River Bridge, it’s less expensive, Owens explained. 

“It takes a lot of the nurse’s time, which makes it harder,” Owens said. 

Owens asked that if any nurses or medical providers are interested in learning how to do these exams to contact her.

“I have a team of three nurses who have other jobs and I’m the only one employed full time by River Bridge right now,” she said. 

Chapman said they depend on the community to help victims.

“You don’t realize you need it until you need it,” she said. 

If anyone wants to make an appointment at the River Bridge Regional Center in Glenwood Springs near Valley View Hospital, call Garfield County Dispatch at 970-625-8095. These examinations are by appointment only. For more information, visit their website at riverbridgerc.org/.