New South Dakota Law Forces Codington County Sexual Assault Victims to Travel to Sioux Falls for Exams

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - A new state law that went into effect on July 1 has severely restricted the ability of local medical facilities to perform sexual assault exams, shifting a substantial logistical and financial burden onto Codington County.

State’s Attorney Alison Bakken briefed the Codington County Commissioners on Tuesday about the unintended consequences of the recent legislation, which effectively limits Prairie Lakes Healthcare System’s ability to conduct the critical evidence-gathering exams.

According to Bakken, the law creates a liability risk for hospitals by placing the burden of determining staff qualifications directly on the facility.

“It says in the hospital’s discretion, they have to determine that a doctor, nurse practitioner, certified sexual assault nurse examiner... can perform these exams,” Bakken explained to the board. “Hospitals don’t like to take on that assumption of liability. Their medical malpractice providers don’t like them to take on that assumption of liability.”

Furthermore, the statute limits regular staff who previously assisted with parts of the exams from participating. Currently, only one part-time nurse at the local facility is certified under the new rules to perform the exams, and having a doctor do it is highly impractical due to chain-of-custody rules requiring the physician to hold the evidence kit for several hours.

As a result, victims in Codington County will likely need to be transported to Sioux Falls to receive care.

“First is that there’s also a law that says that the county has to pay for the cost of transport related to sexual assault exams,” Bakken warned the commissioners. “So effectively what happens now is... they will likely receive an ambulance ride or a gas voucher to go to Sioux Falls for a sexual assault exam. What that means is if it’s an ambulance ride, the county is going to pay the bill for that ambulance ride under the statute.”

Bakken expressed concern over the impact this will have on victims and criminal prosecutions.

“Somebody that’s now traumatized that was maybe questioning whether or not to report now may show up and be told you’re going to have to sit in an ambulance,” Bakken said. “Oh, and by the way, when you get down there, we’re not entirely sure how we’re going to get you back.”

The State’s Attorney’s Office is actively collaborating with the Sheriff’s Office, the police department, the Beacon Center, and local healthcare providers to find a solution, which may include finding funding for a dedicated position at the hospital.

Read more local & state news at www.northeastradiosd.com/news

Subscribe to the DAILY newsletter & download the LOCAL online RADIO app - https://zurl.co/FchgS