TriHealth CARES Program, of Ohio

Team Award

Recognizes a group or committee that has made a significant contribution toward achieving ENA’s mission to advance excellence in emergency care through the development of a sustainable project or program.

TriHealth’s Center for Abuse, Rape and Emergency Services reaches hundreds of survivors and community partners each year. In addition to collecting evidence and providing exams for those who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse or human trafficking, the team offers training and advocates for more support for survivors.

CARES members provide free education to law enforcement, advocates, prosecuting attorneys, emergency nursing teams, and college students on how to preserve evidence, trauma-informed care, the cycle of abuse, nonfatal strangulation, and contrast software technology.

When nonfatal strangulation became a felony in Ohio in 2023, the CARES program coordinated with the local police department and police credit union to hold training for law enforcement officers on identifying NFS. Additionally, the program coordinator secured more than $100,000 in grants to purchase specialized cameras that enhance identification of NFS injuries, particularly on patients with darker skin tones.

Team members — who include SANE, emergency and forensic nurses — also advocate for better support for survivors, traveling to Washington, D.C., on three occasions. The program coordinator is involved with the sexual assault response teams in three counties, and the team presented on NFS at an Ohio State ENA Council monthly board meeting.