ARLINGTON, Texas — A Texas Health team of nurses that provides specialized care and support to sexual assault survivors while collecting forensic evidence for potential criminal investigations is now expanding its focus to also treat victims of domestic violence.

The expanded services, offered by what will now be known as the Forensic Healthcare and Violence Intervention Department, will launch this month at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth. All wholly owned Texas Health hospitals eventually will offer the services.

The expansion is possible thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the Moody Foundation.

“For years, we’ve seen the tremendous impact that our certified sexual assault nurse examiners have made in caring for and comforting patients who have endured one of the most difficult times of their lives, all while meticulously collecting and preserving evidence that could prove crucial in a criminal case,” said Catherine Oliveros, DrPH, vice president of Community Health Improvement for Texas Health. “We are so grateful that the Moody Foundation’s grant is enabling our nurses to obtain additional training in interpersonal violence, so they can now help even more victims of violence.”

In 2023, 205 Texans were killed by their intimate partners, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence. Of those homicides, 26 occurred in Dallas County, a 30% increase from the previous year, and eight occurred in Tarrant County.

In 2024, Texas Health’s team of sexual assault nurse examiners served 727 adults and 43 children.

The department currently has eight full-time and 20 part-time nurses who cover 11 Texas Health hospitals across North Texas. The health system’s hospitals in Collin County – Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano, Texas Health Hospital Frisco and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen – receive similar services through a collaboration with The Turning Point.

As part of the expansion, the department will hire two additional full-time nurses and a staff member to focus on providing education within the community, said Cindy Burnette, D.N.P., R.N., CA-CP SANE, SANE-A, director of the Forensic Healthcare and Violence Intervention Department.

The specially trained nurses will be available 24/7 to meet bedside with patients being treated as a result of domestic or dating violence, complete a danger assessment to ascertain their risk level, photograph any injuries and, if the patient wishes, connect them with law enforcement.

If the patient doesn’t want to report the incident and/or leave the alleged abuser at that time, the nurses will work with them to develop a safety plan.

“What if they had to leave in a hurry? Where would they go? What would they need? What documents?” Burnette said. “There’s such a plethora of things that people don’t really think about needing when it’s time to leave. It would be like a hurricane came through; what do you grab on your way out of the door?”

Burnette said nurses at Texas Health Arlington Memorial and Texas Health Fort Worth have already been alerting SafeHaven of Tarrant County’s High Risk Team when a patient has signs of strangulation, has suffered severe injuries or has suspicious injuries while pregnant – indications that studies have found place a victim at increased risk of dying at their offender’s hands. 

“Anytime there’s that type of situation, SafeHaven is sending an advocate out to the bedside to talk with this person. Again, they may choose not to leave, but what we can do is discuss making them safer and let them know that they do have a place to go,” Burnette said.

Frances Moody-Dahlberg, CEO and president of the Moody Foundation, said the foundation is grateful to support Texas Health’s expansion to more comprehensive forensic nursing.

“We care deeply about ensuring victims of sexual assault, abuse and interpersonal violence have access to the highly specialized care needed to truly heal from these heinous crimes,” Moody-Dahlberg said. “We’ve been proud to support Texas Health’s SANE program in the past, and this latest gift will support training their nurses in forensic evidence collection and enabling the team to provide outreach and education to law enforcement, colleges and other community organizations. With this investment, our hope is that more perpetrators of violence are brought to justice and survivors can heal more fully.”

The Forensic Healthcare and Violence Intervention Department is part of Texas Health Community Hope, Texas Health Resources’ unique approach to promoting healthier futures through a broad range of impactful initiatives, investments and collaborations.