PARIS L. GRAY/Courier-Post Eileen Caraker, a registered nurse working with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, treats sexual assault victims in a special unit at Underwood-Memorial Hospital in Woodbury.

Only a few years ago, sexual assault victims arriving at Gloucester County's two emergency departments were lumped together with other patients, sometimes waiting hours to be seen.

That compounded the trauma they'd already undergone, sometimes making them feel victimized a second time.

"Before, a patient would come into emergency room and be prioritized based on injuries," said Eileen Caraker, coordinator of the Sexual Assault Response Team for the county prosecutor's office.

Because sexual assault victims don't usually suffer life-threatening injuries, "they weren't given a high priority," she said.

That began to change in 1997, when Underwood-Memorial Hospital in Woodbury dedicated a room where sexual assault victims' cases could be handled privately by the SART, a team of medical, law enforcement and mental health professionals.

In conjunction with national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Washington Township, opened a sexual-assault treatment room in its new emergency department this month.

Both hospitals also have private waiting rooms for sexual assault victims.

The SART, which consists of a nurse examiner, a counselor and a law enforcement officer, is on 24-hour call to respond to sexual assault cases.

Nurse examiners are specially trained to treat victims, collect evidence and testify in court.

"It's one-on-one care and the chain of evidence is well-protected," said Caraker, a registered nurse who also is coordinator of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program for the prosecutor's office.

Ten registered nurses in the county are trained for handling sexual assault victims. They undergo 40 hours of training in evidence collection, injury assessment and treatment.

The nurses deal with cases involving male and female victims ages 13 and older.

The nurse examiner program is funded through a grant from the state Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy.

This year, a $114,000 grant will pay for the nurses' on-call salaries, equipment, training and ongoing education, as well as clothes, undergarments and hygiene kits for victims.

The SART handles about 60 cases each year, according to Ed Sholinsky, spokesman for the prosecutor.

Caraker said she hopes a "victim-centered" approach at the two hospitals will encourage more people to come forward.

"The victim becomes comfortable because they're with you for a long time and they don't have to tell their story over and over," she said.