TULSA, Okla. — House Bill 2236 authored by south Tulsa Republican Rep. Jeff Boatman will guarantee forensic nurses get paid $800 for each medical examination on victims of sexual assault.
That's up from just $450.
It also doubles the cap for necessary medications handed to victims to $100.
Boatman told 2 News Friday the state District Attorneys Council made a big push for the change.
"If you have the opportunity to apprehend and prosecute that perpetrator, you're going to have to have that evidence. And it's critical that it's done timely and it's done correctly," Rep. Boatman said.
"We're first and foremost a nurse but we're also collecting evidence. And then we're also working in the legal realm and with the police department or the district attorney's office," Tulsa Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Director Kasey Magness said, describing the roles forensic nurses play in the sexual assault investigative process.
Magness said the exam rooms inside the downtown Tulsa police station she works in see around 500 sexual assault victims each year.
But it's rural Oklahomans who can benefit the most with more staffing, she said.
"This helps us be able to recruit nurses to be able to come in that may have not wanted to get involved into the forensic side before," she said.
Rep. Boatman's bill coincided with another from Oklahoma City Sen. Kay Floyd, a Democrat, which establishes a statewide SANE nurse coordinator. So the bills merged and passed unanimously.
"We see politics as they're broken on the national stage but in Oklahoma we still have good people," Boatman said. "We work together and when we see a need like this…and some of our most vulnerable aren't being served, we come together and we get it taken care of."
Magness said the new law offers a brighter future in fighting sexual assault in the Sooner state.
"Anywhere in Oklahoma you'll get the same standard of care, the same great care no matter where you're at. And I think that's something to be very hopeful," she said.
If you or someone you know is in need of care after a sexual assault, you can call 911 or if you're uncomfortable coming forward to police, you may call Domestic Violence Intervention Services at 918-7-HELP-ME.
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