Rape victim exams still coming in Carson City

Conducting sexual assault exams for rape victims remains on track to return as a Carson City service, but has taken longer than the city health officer anticipated.

Dr. Susan Pintar, city government’s health officer and chairperson of the Board of Health, said Friday it has taken longer than she had hoped and, as autumn looms, there still are details to put in place. But she remained confident the exams will return.

“It’s been slower than I anticipated,” she said, noting hurdles included malpractice insurance issues for a medical director and a need for additional on-call nurses for the exam room in a space provided by Carson Tahoe Health at the Carson Tahoe Speciality Medical Center on Fleischmann Way. Pintar and the Board of Health she chairs discussed the situation at a meeting Thursday. Pintar, Sheriff Ken Furlong and the Board of Supervisors make up the health board.

At an earlier Board of Health meeting, resolution of the problem was announced and the exam system was expected to be running this autumn, which begins next week. The sexual assault response team (SART) came up with the solution, but details still had to be worked out and some apparently still do.

The lack of exam capability in the city had developed after Carson Tahoe Hospital dropped them and sexual assault victims had to be transported to the Reno area for such tests.

Supervisor Karen Abowd said Friday the exams definitely are on track to come and thanked the collaborative community effort that’s making that possible. Weeks ago she said Carson Tahoe Health, the CTH Foundation and others involved with the SART unit should be credited for making progress toward the goal because lack of such exams had been “a huge roadblock for us.”