Address:
Highland Sexual Assault Response Team
Highland Hospital Campus
1411 East 31st Street
Oakland, CA. 94602
[map and directions]
The Sexual Assault Center can be reached 24-hours a day at (510) 534-9290 or (510) 534-9291.
For information about the Rape Prevention Program or to arrange for a guest speaker, please call (510) 437-4019.
The victims have been as young as 14, as old as 86. The commonality they share is that each has been sexually assaulted. Since 1994, the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at Highland's Emergency Department has been available 24-hours-a-day to assist victims of sexual assault. Unlike other local hospitals, sexual assault victims brought to Highland are treated as priority patients by a designated staff member who has specialized training in their care and treatment.
Mid-Level Practitioners on the Medical Center's Sexual Assault Response Team
The goal is to create a situation where the victims feel supported, can tell their story and have their injuries cared for while evidence is carefully collected and documented. The team of physician assistants, specially trained nurses, social workers, and forensic examiners treats 25 patients each month, about ten times the number of assault patients seen in any other local emergency department.
SART also uses the latest technology to interpret its findings and works closely with the local police and district attorney's office. Since the beginning of SART, cases that historically could not be prosecuted, are now not only being charged, but are resulting in convictions with significant prison time.
The innovative program is also acclaimed nationally and is a model for similar units in emergency rooms around the country.
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