Sexual Abuse Response Team (SART)

Palomar Health is keenly aware of the serious and on-going need for prompt and sensitive care for those who are victims of sexual assault. The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) was established more than fifteen years ago to help children, adolescents, women and men through this crisis and to help law enforcement effectively identify the attackers and hold them responsible in court. 

Accredited by the National Children’s Alliance, we serve approximately 450 children and adults annually in a safe place where kind, patient, and highly trained staff handle the delicate task of interviewing victims who are often traumatized, distrustful, and afraid.
 
Our SART programs is closely linked with law enforcement and district attorneys, ensuring that victims receive the professional care and counseling they need in a timely and effective manner, and that those who perpetrate the attacks can be held responsible in court. The existence of our facilities means that victims who often had to wait for hours for medical attention at area emergency rooms following an attack, no longer have to do so. Within an hour of notification, SART staff can be ready to care for sexual assault victims and give them the undivided attention that is so important during this time. Once there, they undergo a three-hour interview and exam process conducted by specially trained care givers. Often the evidence gathered by members of SART is so strong and compelling that suspects will admit their guilt, sparing victims the necessity of testifying in a public court room. 

The facility itself is centered on the victims’ needs, providing absolute privacy, state of the art evidence-gathering equipment and techniques, and a streamlined interview process led by a team of professionals that includes a forensic nurse examiner, a detective and a patient advocate. 

Learn more about our Executive Management Team. 

  • The mission of Palomar Health is to heal, comfort
    and promote health in the communities we serve.

    Palomar Health is a California Public Healthcare District.

  • Palomar Medical Center Escondido

    2185 Citracado Parkway
    Escondido, CA 92029
    442.281.5000

    Palomar Medical Center Poway

    15615 Pomerado Road
    Poway, CA 92064
    858.613.4000

    Palomar Medical Center Downtown Escondido

    555 East Valley Parkway
    Escondido, CA 92025
    760.739.3000

 
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