Experiencing violence can have harmful and lasting consequences for survivors, families, and communities. According to the hospital’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment:
- Winnebago County reported aggravated assault/battery rate of 137.9 per 100,000 residents, an increase from 2015.
- The rate of rape for Winnebago County was 44.8 reports per 100,000 persons, higher than Wisconsin‘s overall rate of 27.9 per 100,000 in 2019.
- In Wisconsin, the rate of Child Protective Services reports was 32.1 per 1,000 children in 2019; Winnebago County’s rate was higher at 34.9 reports per 1,000 children.
The Aurora Medical Center - Oshkosh Forensic Nursing team works within the Emergency Department. There is a specific area designed to bring emotional healing to survivors while they receive trauma informed care.
The Aurora Medical Center – Oshkosh provided Forensic Nursing Examiner (FNE) Services to 193 people in 2023. And survivors do not have to start their healing journey alone.
In addition to working with a specially trained FNE, the nurses offer survivors an advocate, a support person from a local community agency the hospital partners with. “All the services we provide to survivors are confidential, even to the patient’s own provider,” said Brenda Doolittle, one of the hospitals FNEs. “Survivors can choose who they would like their records released to. People who come to our department leave feeling more empowered and safer.”
But an FNE’s work doesn’t start or end with responding to the call. In 2023, the Aurora Medical Center – Oshkosh FNE team provided 23 training sessions for 900 community members. Topics included what to do if you experience an assault, signs to watch for if you suspect someone has been assaulted, and how to support a survivor.
"An assault crime is motivated by violence, anger and power," said Doolittle. "A survivor is never responsible for an assault and is never to blame for not being able to stop it.”
