Rape counseling program expands

Because of the success of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) in Brooklyn and the Bronx, Michael Bloomberg recently announced the expansion of the SART program to two hospitals in Queens - at Elmhurst Hospital Center and Queens Hospital Center.
The announcement comes one year after the expansion of the initiative into Brooklyn and two years after the cutting-edge program was brought to the Bronx. Composed of specially-trained forensic examiners and rape crisis counselors, SART provides sexual assault victims with state-of-the-art forensic and counseling services within one hour of their arrival at the hospital. SART services are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
“The SART program has proven to be a valuable and effective model for delivering services to sexual assault victims and bringing the criminals who perpetrate these terrible crimes to justice,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “Today, rape victims who seek help at any City hospital - whether it’s in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan - receive the best possible medical, counseling and forensic services, and they receive this attention and care within an hour.”
“The expansion of the Sexual Assault Response Team initiative to Queens County will enhance immeasurably our ability to effectively investigate and successfully prosecute our sexual assault cases and bring the dangerous predators who commit these horrendous crimes to justice,” said District Attorney Richard Brown, on hand for the announcement at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
All SART members have received intensive training, approved by the State Department of Health, which entail properly identifying, collecting, and packaging forensic evidence accurately, documenting injuries, and attending to the emotional needs of rape victims. Coordinated by a project director, SART members are dispatched around the clock to conduct physical examinations, collect potential DNA evidence, and document internal and external injuries.