AdventHealth Littleton now offering 24/7 forensic nurse program for survivors of violence in Colorado

A new program at AdventHealth Littleton is supporting the community by offering 24/7 specialized medical care. Its Forensic Nurse Examiner Program will provide both medical care and forensic documentation to survivors of violence in Colorado. That includes sexual assault, domestic violence, and victims of gun violence.

Assistant Nurse Manager Lorna Leader gave CBS News Colorado a tour of the space being used to implement the program on Wednesday, including the hospital rooms and tools utilized.

"We take DNA evidence and those go to a lab," she said. "And I can actually get the opportunity to testify on my chart in court with their words and hopefully justice is done."

Leader says this work is deeply personal to her. She's a survivor of sexual assault and remembers undergoing a forensic exam that felt cold, clinical, and terrifying. "Back in 1979, I became a statistic. I was taken by a stranger for five days and, unfortunately, sexually assaulted, but that doesn't define who I am."

It has helped her define a passion for advocacy, however. She is dedicated to making sure no other patient has that same experience.

"As we sit down and talk and do our physical exam, we are asking for their consent," she said. "We are making sure that they're covered. We never want to make them feel uncomfortable, different, or ashamed. We sit eye-level with our patients to make sure we are building that rapport and giving that power back to them."

Leader says that no matter who you are, AdventHealth Littleton's team is there to help: "When we think of sexual assault, we automatically go to women. There are male victims, men in the LGBTQ+ community, really anyone who's been marginalized. We are here to believe you and we're here to make sure you're okay. we will fight right alongside you."

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. April 29 is also Denim Day, a global movement to stand in solidarity with survivors.