2009

$426,000 to benefit victims of sexual assault and domestic violence

3 February, 2009

Contact: Julie Uehara Sur, Phone: (330) 375-7117, Email: ueharaj@summahealth.org

Akron, Ohio, Feb. 3, 2009 – Summa Health System’s DOVE (Developing Options for Violent Emergencies) program has been awarded the largest grant in its history – a two-year, $426,000 Byrne Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. This grant will enable DOVE to expand its clinical capacity on the St. Thomas and Akron City campuses as well as provide clinical and professional education throughout the communities served by Summa hospitals to benefit victims of acute sexual assault and domestic violence.

DOVE provides specialized healthcare to adolescent and adult victims of acute sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse and neglect. No victim is ever charged for DOVE’s clinical services. Created in 1997 as the Summit County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, the program expanded in 2000 to provide the same quality of care to victims of domestic violence. The name changed to DOVE, which reflected the expansion of services. Summa’s DOVE program has become a national model for this specialized healthcare. 

“It is exciting to be awarded this grant because it will allow us to better meet the needs of victims presenting to all of Summa’s Emergency Departments,” said Valorie Prulhiere, BSN, RN, SANE-A, Coordinator of Victim Services of DOVE.  “Nurses at Cuyahoga Falls General, Summa Barberton, Wadsworth-Rittman and Robinson Memorial Hospitals will receive education to address patient care issues related to sexual assault and domestic violence as well as equipment and supplies.”

Updated technology will enhance the clinical services that DOVE currently provides to all patients on the Akron City and St. Thomas campuses.  Law enforcement officers and paramedics in the Summa service region will receive trainings focused on the initial assessment and safety needs of victims. A Victim Service Liaison (VSL) position will be created to enhance existing relationships between DOVE and community agencies and organizations, as well as create new relationships and outreach within the community, focusing on the link between violence and poor healthcare outcomes.

About Summa Health System
Summa Health System is one of the largest integrated delivery systems in Ohio.  Encompassing a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, a multi-specialty physician organization, research and multiple foundations, Summa is nationally renowned for excellence in patient care and for exceptional approaches to healthcare delivery.  Summa's clinical services are consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report, Thomson Reuters and The Leapfrog Group.