Forensic Telemedicine Training and Equipment for Indian Health Service Units

Through an interagency agreement with the Indian Health Service (IHS), OVC provides funding for training and photographic equipment to document forensic exams of child abuse and sexual assault victims at IHS clinics and hospitals in Indian Country. The photographic documentation is designed to minimize or prevent transporting child victims, an escort or parent, and an FBI agent or criminal investigator long distances to large urban hospitals for examinations, and to document medical diagnoses for victims in physical or sexual abuse and sexual assault cases. The photographic equipment enables the attending physician, nurse, or sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) to properly document medical observations and findings, thus minimizing or avoiding repeated colposcope examinations of child victims. Training sessions are scheduled for attending physicians, nurses, and SANEs in how to use, apply, and maintain the equipment properly. IHS has consulted with the victim/witness specialist in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Children's Advocacy Center of the Uniformed Services at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

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