For victims of sexual assault, seeking help can be painful and humiliating. That's why Mountain West Medical Center emergency room nurses Holli Anderson, Tracy Schaffer and Suzanne Peterson, took it upon themselves to help these victims by acquiring the necessary training to offer sexual assault exams close to home. Since 2004 they have been able to help 15 to 20 victims per year.

The three women were honored for their work last Friday by the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, receiving the organization's annual outstanding service award.

"They are ER RNs, and they could have just stayed doing that, but they went above and beyond to get additional training and take special interest in victims," said Holly Johnson, Tooele County's victim/witness advocate.

Nearly four years ago, sexual assault exams -- which gather essential forensic evidence to be used in court -- were largely unavailable in Tooele County. Victims were required to travel to Salt Lake City to have the invasive two- to three-hour procedure done. On occasion, a doctor from outside Mountain West would come do some exams, but was not available for every case.

Schaffer said her decision to learn to do the exams was spurred by watching a victim wait all night to have an exam done because a doctor wasn't available.

"I remember thinking, 'This poor woman has already gone through a lot and now she has to sit and wait in the emergency room,'" Schaffer said.

Schaffer and Anderson took a 40-hour course called Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training, which not only taught them how to perform exams, but educated them about how to document the information they find so that it is admissible in court. Schaffer said victims don't have to wait now -- as she or one of her colleagues are typically available round the clock -- and don't have to travel far to seek help.

"They make themselves available," said Johnson of the nurses' willingness to work on-call for sexual assault examinations.

Exams take place any time of the day in the emergency room at Mountain West Medical Center.

"Just being able to get the exam done in their own town is a lot more comforting for victims," Anderson added. "And then they have someone available right here if they have any questions."

Anderson, 40, and Schaffer, 41, finished their training in 2004. They were joined a year later by Peterson, 35, who felt compelled as a former victim to complete the training as well.

"I was able to utilize what I had learned to help other people," Peterson said. "I always tell the girls that I am so proud of them and their decision to come and take the exam. This is something that happened to them, but it doesn't define who they are."

The three women said there isn't really a nice way to sum up what the exam entails.

"Some patients are so distraught that we have to take a lot of time explaining procedures so that they can prepare themselves mentally," Anderson said.

Johnson said these nurse examiners are a crucial part of the Sexual Assault Response Team, which consists of law enforcement, victim advocates and prosecutors. The nurses are typically first to call into action the rest of the team when a victim comes forward. The team meets together regularly about ways to improve victim services in the county.

"We love the nurse examiners because they are really good with our victims," said Betsy Leishman, who nominated the nurses for the award and is a coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy crisis line in Tooele County. "They are so compassionate and so professional."

Leishman said other nurse examiners in the state are compensated $300 for each exam they complete, but Anderson, Peterson and Schaffer just receive their regular hourly pay from Mountain West for the service they provide.

"These nurses collectively took the initiative to take the [sexual assault] training because they saw victims of sexual assault were not receiving proper services in this county," Leishman said in her nomination letter. "For the past four years, they have been providing compassionate, non-judgmental care for sexual assault victims while receiving minimal compensation."

jamieb@tooeletranscript.com