Since 2013, the multidisciplinary partnership has expanded access to specialized, trauma-informed care in southwest Wisconsin.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. —- Southwest Health has received the 2026 Global Vision Community Partnership Award for its involvement with the Southwest Sexual Assault Resource Team (SART), a regional partnership that helps survivors access compassionate, trauma-informed care.
Leigh Ann Larson, executive director of the Wisconsin Hospital Association Foundation and vice president of education and corporate partnerships, presented the award to Southwest Health’s SANE nurses along with a $3,000 grant to support SART’s work. The award recognizes the need for coordinated, specialized services in rural southwest Wisconsin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2023/2024 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey estimates that 43.2% of Wisconsin women—approximately 971,000 people—have experienced contact sexual violence in their lifetime and that 24.5%, or about 551,000 Wisconsin women, have experienced completed or attempted rape.
Established in 2013, Southwest SART brings healthcare, advocacy, law enforcement, higher education and prosecution partners together to improve the regional response to sexual assault. The team works to increase access to medical-forensic examinations, strengthen evidence collection and investigative practices, reduce barriers to care and reporting, and improve coordination among responding organizations.
At the center of the partnership is Southwest Health’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program,
which has grown from one specially trained nurse to five. SANE nurses provide emotional support,
medical assessment, forensic evidence collection and photography, injury documentation, education
about sexually transmitted infection and pregnancy risks, and referrals for advocacy, counseling and
follow-up care. When requested, they also assist patients with law enforcement reporting.
Southwest Health developed the partnership with UW–Platteville, the Platteville Police Department and
Family Advocates. The Grant County District Attorney’s Office and regional organizations also
contribute. Family Advocates serves Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties with 24-hour crisis response,
counseling, safety planning, emergency shelter and other support. Southwest Health also serves as a
regional resource for healthcare organizations seeking help with sexual assault response, referrals and
patient transfers.
Southwest Health extends special thanks to Terri Fugate, Director of Southwest Health Emergency Department for her leadership, to its Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, and to all SART partners. Their compassion, expertise and collaboration help survivors in rural communities receive care and support with dignity.
The partnership has remained active for more than 13 years. Southwest Health sustains the SANE program through ongoing investment in staffing, training, certification, equipment and organizational support. Grant funding has supplemented these efforts by supporting multidisciplinary training, coordination and forensic resources. SART partners continue to meet to review practices, identify needs and strengthen protocols.
About Southwest Health
With its fast-growing range of providers and services, Southwest Health, is a high-performing non-profit regional healthcare system that puts its patient needs first. On the hospital campus in Platteville, Southwest Health providers wide-ranging, high-quality acute care services, including medical and surgical care, emergency and urgent care, Orthopedic Institute, Podiatry, ENT, colorectal surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, Birth Center, specialty care, cancer care, a comprehensive Eye Center, the area’s largest family medicine clinic, Emergency Medical Services, vascular surgery, and outpatient pharmacy. With the offsite locations in Cuba City, Darlington, Lancaster, and Kieler, Southwest Health is keeping high-quality family medicine and specialty care close.