St. Peter's Health Forensic Nurse Program staff.
St. Peter’s Health Forensic Nurse Coordinator Whitney Brothers talks about supporting survivors of sexual violence in our community with forensic care.
Of the hundreds of individuals The Friendship Center serves each year, about one in seven are clients seeking services after a sexual assault. Survivors of assault and rape reach out to our advocates for a variety of reasons. Many want to talk through their options with a safe and supportive voice they can trust to protect their confidentiality. Though some choose to make a law enforcement report, many do not, which is consistent with established research indicating more than two-thirds of sexual assaults will never be reported to police. Still others may come to us to determine whether they seek medical attention following an assault.
That choice to access medical help always rests with our clients, but it can offer significant peace of mind since signs of injury from an assault may not be obvious or immediate. For those that do seek care, we’re fortunate in Helena to have a dedicated Forensic Nurse Program housed within the Emergency Department at St. Peter’s Health (SPH). This means that emergency room patients seeking evaluation and treatment can also request a forensic exam be performed by a sexual assault nurse examiner (aka, a registered SANE nurse) with specialized training in providing trauma-informed care and collecting evidence that can be safely stored whether or not a patient chooses to report an assault to law enforcement.
Though the program is just three years old, it’s become a regional resource that sexual assault patients beyond our tri-county area have come to rely on. As recently as 2023, one-third of SPH’s forensic patients traveled to Helena from Toole, Cascade, Gallatin, Powell, and Silver Bow counties in the absence of closer available care. A key figure behind the evolution of both forensic services and our overall response to sexual violence in our community is SPH Forensic Nurse Coordinator Whitney Brothers. Whitney’s impact on the standard of forensic care available right here in Helena cannot be overstated, and we’re honored to recognize her leadership and commitment to providing the best care to survivors with a Q&A for this month’s partner spotlight. We hope you enjoy what Whitney shares here about the forensic nursing career path that brought her back to her hometown of Helena in 2021, what she wishes more people understood about sexual assault, and the deep pride she has in her dedicated team of forensic nurses.
Many of our supporters and readers may be aware that our advocates are able to accompany folks who choose to have a forensic medical exam following a sexual assault. However, they might not know just how much the capacity at St. Peter’s Health to provide forensic services has grown and improved in just a few years. To get us started, can you talk a little bit about the origins of the Forensic Nurse Program?
WB: The Forensic Nurse Program originated in January 2022, and we have just completed our third full year. Prior to the program, our Emergency Department nurses were the ones who were completing the forensic exams. This model wasn’t the best when it comes to sexual assault exams for a few reasons. First, our Emergency Department is staffed based on ratios, and when a patient presents who is needing an exam, it would result in the Emergency Department nurse reassigning their current patient load to take care of this one patient. These types of exams can typically take a few hours and that really puts a strain on staffing when other critical patients come in. They were also facing the issues with a lack of continuing education and training for the exams that keep us up to speed with the latest recommendations.
SPH recognized this was an opportunity for improvement and decided to invest and build a forensic program to ensure we could provide the best care to these victims when they come to the hospital. Our program has continued to grow over the years, but we currently have myself as their full-time coordinator, and then six forensic nurses who are also responding to victims. We work hard to provide 24/7/365 coverage for victims of all ages to ensure they receive the best care possible after experiencing a traumatic event such as a sexual assault.
Can you talk about your professional journey that brought you to do this important work in Helena? When along the way did you become aware of forensic nursing as a niche in health care, and when did you find out this was something you had a passion and affinity for?
WB: I first heard about forensic nursing when I was a senior in nursing school in Minnesota. I was attending a Student Nurse’s Association conference and there was a section talking about different, uncommon nursing jobs that you might not know exist. I remember there was a forensic nurse presenting and I thought to myself, “Wow, this is really cool. But I don’t think I could do it full-time.” I then moved to North Dakota to start my nursing career. At my first job on a medical oncology floor, I had a coworker who was working as a forensic nurse with a nonprofit organization in town. I knew I was curious about it, so I applied and started my journey as a forensic nurse in 2016.
I started off caring for adolescent/adult victims of sexual assault, then in 2018, I expanded to caring for pediatric victims. In 2020, I took a position as the coordinator of that location and then in 2021, I took a position as a manager of four locations. I really had the best of both worlds—working in the hospital as a bedside nurse part-time and then working as a forensic nurse part-time. Two very different worlds, but it seemed to work well for me and fueled my passion.
I remember in 2021 my sister-in-law sent me an article that St. Peter’s had released about sexual assault awareness month. It said they were going to create their own forensic nurse program and to stay tuned for more information. She told me, “I don’t know if this is your sign to move home, but maybe it is worth considering.” I remember reaching out to Anne McCoy who is the Director of the Emergency Department to introduce myself and express my interest in the program. I was able to apply in the fall and was offered the position and relocated back to my hometown of Helena in December 2021. It had been 10 years since I left for college, and I was really excited to be back and start this new chapter in my life.
Educating our community about the nature and root causes of sexual violence, as well as the misconceptions folks may have about victims and perpetrators is a big part of our mission. Your team probably serves sexual assault survivors with stories and situations that challenge every kind of popular stereotype out there about assault and rape. This may be a daunting question, but what are the biggest points about sexual assault that you wish more people understood?
WB: There are a few things I wish the world knew about sexual assault, but I think the most important thing is that unfortunately, it is so common.
I remember having a conversation with some professionals who were trying to help me work on a project and they really wanted me to pinpoint my “target audience.” They asked questions like: What age of patients do you mostly care for? What gender do you care for? Where do they live? How can we reach them? It was eye-opening for them to hear that the oldest patient I had cared for was 92 and the youngest one was less than a year. I have cared for victims of all races and ethnicities, victims from different religions, communities, and socioeconomic classes. I have taken care of victims with different abilities and disabilities, all different gender identities and sexual orientations. It really goes to show that unfortunately, anyone and everyone can be a victim of sexual violence.
What I wish health care providers and other professionals in our community knew is how scary and daunting it must be for a victim to come forward and share what has happened to them. We need to provide a safe and judgment-free zone for them to share, and for us to help them. I feel honored that victims trust me enough to share probably one of the worst experiences in their life with me as a complete and total stranger.
I want people to know how underreported it is, and why, and to ask ourselves how we can help to improve that. Not only is it underreported to law enforcement, but to health care providers as well. There are barriers to folks coming to the hospital after a sexual assault. How can we identify those barriers and how can we get rid of them? And for victims, whether or not they decide to talk to law enforcement, I really want them to understand how important health care is, how we can help them, and more importantly that we want to help them.
We were thrilled to see St. Peter’s recognize you at the end of last year by naming you a Gold Standard Employee of the Year! You strike us as the type of person who really sees any individual recognition as recognition of a larger team’s efforts and success, but anybody who’s worked with you will say your impact on the standard of forensic nurse care available here in Helena is undeniable. What are you most proud of when you reflect on how far the program has come? And looking ahead, are there any big goals for continuing to grow and improve the program?
WB: Yes, thank you! It was a great award to win, and I felt very honored and appreciated in the work that I do. Like you had mentioned, my success is also very closely related to the success that the Forensic Nurse Program has had as a team in the last three years. When I reflect back, something I am very proud of is how we have not really experienced a significant amount of staff turnover. Out of the seven nurses we have, six of them have been with the program since 2022. The majority of our nurses work another job as well, either at SPH or a different facility. But even as they’ve changed their primary jobs, they are still staying on with the Forensic Nurse Program. We know there is some level of turnover that we will experience, but we take great pride in knowing we have nurses who have been here since the beginning and don’t have any plans to leave.
I am also very excited that the nurses who work in this program really do have a passion for continuing their education and staying up to speed with changes in best practice recommendations. In 2024 alone, our nurses completed over 600 hours of continuing education and training as a whole. Out of the seven nurses we have, six of them have attended trainings out of state. Our nurses are really passionate about providing the best care possible to the victims they see.
I am a very goal-focused person, so at the beginning of the year, I like to establish goals and then reflect on them at the end of the year and see how we did. Every year our program sets new goals and works really hard to accomplish them. I am excited to say our program is very close to having all the steps in place for our forensic nurses to also respond to victims who present to our Emergency Department for care following a strangulation. We have worked very hard over the last year on creating a new document to use when assessing them and to have our policies and procedures in place. We have also set a goal for 2025 to establish some sort of follow-up process with our patients. More on that to come!
Beyond the work you do with your own team, you’re also part of a multidisciplinary sexual assault response team (SART) along with The Friendship Center that coordinates with different agencies to connect survivors with resources, support, and care following an assault. How important are those partnerships in your mind?
WB: I am such a believer of multidisciplinary teams and how beneficial they can be. I came from a community that did not have one and now that I have seen a successful one, I wish every community was able to have this. We have a group of people coming together with one common goal: The ability to surround and provide victims of sexual assault with the best services in our community. Each person on our team plays a vital part and we wouldn’t be nearly as successful as we are without them. We all know our own jobs and responsibilities, but we work together and truly have great outcomes.
One of the most important parts to me is the networking. I know our advocates, our prosecutors, and law enforcement. I have built a relationship with each of them to where I feel comfortable calling them on the phone and asking a question, and I believe the other members of the team feel the same way. When we look across the state and even the nation, there are many communities that are lacking these multidisciplinary teams, and we are grateful to have ours in Helena.
Something we ask our contributors in many of these spotlights is what keeps them motivated in the face of setbacks. Providing care to folks who’ve experienced one of the more violent and physically/emotionally compromising things that can happen to a person cannot be easy, and we imagine it takes a toll. What inspires you to keep going?
WB: I find this is one of the most common questions I get asked when someone finds out that I am a forensic nurse, and I honestly don’t have the best answer. Oftentimes I will respond, “Yes, this type of nursing can be hard, but nursing in general is a difficult job.” It doesn’t matter what area of nursing you work in, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Whether that’s medical, surgical, pediatrics, labor and delivery, school, hospice, or public health nursing, there are hard aspects to each and every kind of nursing. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean someone shouldn’t do it. There are a lot of difficult parts to being a forensic nurse and you hear a lot of awful things, but knowing you are providing great care and hopefully starting a patient on their journey to healing is worth it.
I have had patients come in and they are curled up in a ball on the hospital bed and by the time they are leaving, they are holding their head high, asking to give me a hug, and thanking me for taking care of them. Those are the moments that I channel when I am having a difficult day at work or start to get bogged down in the negativity. I am very grateful for my fellow forensic nurses and my director because it truly does take a team to do this type of work. I wouldn’t be able to maintain this on my own. I am also thankful to my friends, family, and partner who all continue to support me, encourage me, and love me while I work in this position. Lastly, I am thankful for my puppy Tucker—he gets me out of the house and out in nature every day and that has had a big impact.
The Friendship Center is just one of many organizations in our community working to ensure everyone is supported with care and dignity. Each month, we highlight some of the fantastic people and organizations that we partner and collaborate with in our email newsletter. Sign up to make sure you don't miss a partner spotlight and learn more about some of the services available in our community.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, our advocates are here to help. Check out our services page to learn about our free, confidential, 24/7 services. You can also visit our sexual assault resource page to learn more about options for survivors and find answers to some frequently asked questions.
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