It was announced yesterday that the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office and Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office have entered into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement regarding Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners services for survivors of sexual assault in St. Tammany Parish.
Upon taking office as St. Tammany Coroner, Dr. Christopher Tape noted that the SANE program operated at a significant financial loss, which was unsustainable given the uncertainty of future funding. In light of the deficit and its impact on victims, JPCO has offered to combine resources with the St Tammany Coroner’s Office to ensure that these vitally important investigations are properly funded.
Beginning May 20, JPCO will provide SANE services to sexual assault victims in St. Tammany Parish. By adding the former STPCO SANE nurses to its staff, JPCO’s on-call team will provide SANE services to survivors of sexual assault in both communities without difficulty. The advocacy services that are currently provided to victims will continue.
This agreement will reduce costs for both JPCO and STPCO. JPCO has also offered similar assistance to the other Region 9 parishes that were previously serviced by STPCO under the Region 9 Sexual Assault Plan. Those CEAs have also been signed and will take effect beginning May 20.
Meanwhile the group currently trying to set up a recall of the current St Tammany Coroner said the restoration of the SANE program was of the utmost importance to survivors and their path to healing and justice. They thanked Dr Cvitanovich for answering the call on behalf of the community. But they said the recall team wholeheartedly disagrees with the current coroner’s position on this vital program. Even with the services being restored, they said they will still be moving forward with efforts to unseat Coroner Tape through a recall election.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office is re-hiring the staff St. Tammany let go to provide SANE services to Northshore parishes that the St. Tammany Coroner’s office once provided for. Those parishes include St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, St. Helena and Livingston.
