Louisiana coordinates trained nurses to examine sexual assault survivors

The Louisiana Department of Justice must maintain a statewide coordinator for sexual assault nurse examiners and oversee a response standards subcommittee. The coordinator plans statewide services, tracks coverage gaps, reviews incident reports, and reports annually to state leaders. The coordinator must be trained as a sexual assault nurse examiner and have at least two years of experience practicing in that role. The coordinator and standards subcommittee oversee required initial and continuing nurse training. Organizations handling examinations or survivor care must report failures to follow procedures, evidence problems, and patient safety concerns. The coverage plan is due within two years after the access assessment is completed. The law took effect June 3, 2026.

The Louisiana Department of Justice must oversee remote training and regional mobile teams of nurses trained to examine sexual assault survivors. Mobile nurses serve their assigned public health regions at suitable locations agreed upon by the organizations involved. Teams must be able to respond around the clock and arrive within a reasonable time. For urgent examinations, the one-hour arrival goal applies when possible and takes distance and travel time into account. Hospitals must contact their regional nurse program when a sexual assault survivor comes for treatment.

Survivors generally decide whether to report an assault to police without losing access to medical care or evidence collection. These rules cover sexual assault survivors treated by Louisiana hospitals and healthcare providers. Providers must immediately notify police or another required official for survivors under 18. Hospitals or providers must immediately notify police when a survivor is physically or mentally unable to decide whether to report. Unreported evidence kits must omit the survivor's identifying information and go to police or a coroner with a program able to store them securely. Storage alone does not require an investigation or laboratory testing unless the survivor chooses to report. Police or eligible coroners must keep unreported kits for 20 years. Survivors may report during that period. Police must collect kits held securely at hospitals within 72 hours of completion notice.

Hospitals, healthcare providers, and the statewide nurse coordinator must not directly bill survivors for covered examinations that collect sexual assault evidence. Hospitals and healthcare providers must give survivors a pamphlet explaining the billing process. Covered services include the examination, related testing, and medication given during the examination. The protection excludes other medical services, including diagnosis or treatment of assault injuries. The provider and facility must seek payment from the Crime Victims' Compensation Board under its payment rules.

Healthcare providers must give survivors prompt, private care and provide written examination records to adults able to make their own decisions. Care must fit each survivor's needs. The records requirement covers written examination documents held by the provider who performed the examination. An advocate must be offered if available and may stay during the examination with the survivor's consent. Providers cannot refuse examination or help because the survivor lives elsewhere or the assault happened elsewhere. Copies are free, may be released only at the adult survivor's direction, and do not become public records. Failure to follow these standards may lead to denial, suspension, or loss of a provider's license. Records must be provided within 14 days after the provider receives the request or finishes the documentation, whichever happens later.