MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana | Franciscan Health Michigan City’s Center of Hope will further its mission to provide compassionate trauma care to survivors of abuse, thanks to a $10,000 grant from CAPTRUST Community Foundation.
Kelly Shikany, CAPTRUST vice president and financial advisor, presented the gift to Franciscan Health Michigan City, noting that the CAPTRUST office in Chesterton applied for the grant during the CAPTRUST Community Foundation’s second annual Day of Giving.
Franciscan Health Michigan City’s Center of Hope is a designated space where SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) nurses create a safe environment for victims of violence, sexual abuse and trauma. SANE nurses are also trained in collecting forensic evidence and working with local law enforcement agencies.
The seed for the grant was planted a year ago when Franciscan Health Michigan City Vice President of Mission Integration Sister Petra Nielsen spoke last year to a Franciscan Health Foundation women’s philanthropy discussion group about the issue of human trafficking, an issue that can fall below the radar, but one that SANE nurses are trained to detect.
“I said, ‘this is horrible. How can this be happening in our area?’ I didn’t think we had sex trafficking in Northwest Indiana,” Shikany said. “We have to help these people. And if we don’t help them now, what will happen to them?”
Lori Bridegroom, RN, SANE coordinator at Franciscan Health Michigan City, said, unfortunately, people don’t want to talk about the issues of abuse and trafficking because they’re so horrific. The work done in the Center of Hope requires specialized training and equipment, which the CAPTRUST grant will be used toward. “This grant will be put to good use and I can’t say thank you enough,” Bridegroom said.
Sister Petra underlined the importance of the Center of Hope. “Lori and her team do such an amazing job, not just for the victims of trafficking, but also sexual assault and domestic violence. They will spend so much time working with them, getting them
connected to resources, in such a way that we live out our value of respect for life in ministering, just showing that compassion and love,” she said.
Bridegroom said the Center of Hope has nurses on call 24/7, where a trained nurse is always available to take care of a victim, so they don’t have to be transferred.
SANE nurses undergo intensive training in:
• Cultural sensitivity
• Trauma-informed, victim-centered care
• Injury identification
• Evidence preservation
• Forensic photography
• Forensic documentation
• Acute and long-term effects of sexual violence
• Courtroom and some expert testimony
The CAPTRUST Community Foundation is an employee-run 501(c)(3) with a mission to enrich the lives of others in local CAPTRUST communities. CAPTRUST’s Chesterton office is located at 3100 Village Point #200.
To learn more or to donate to the Franciscan Health Foundation to support the Centers of Hope, go online at www.franciscanhealthfoundation.org/programs/center-hope or call (219) 661-3401 in Northern Indiana
