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New Vermont Law Bolsters Sexual Assault Forensics Program

A "rape kit" is a forensic medical exam that is done by highly trained nurses. Vermont has only 53 forensic nurses, and that means in some communities, when a victim goes to an emergency room after an assault, there isn't a nurse there who is trained to collect a rape kit.

This week, Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law that encourages hospitals and nurses to creates pools of on-call services, so that victims can receive immediate care when they arrive at a hospital requesting a forensic exam.

Patti is an integral part of VPR's news effort and part of the team that created Vermont Edition. As executive producer, Patti supervises the team that puts Vermont Edition on the air every day, working with producers to select and research show ideas, select guests and develop the sound and tone of the program.
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