After nearly 40 years of serving the area, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) now has a physical presence on the Eastside.

An expanded partnership with EvergreenHealth has brought the private nonprofit to the health care provider’s Redmond campus in Bella Bottega.

“We’re very excited about expanding,” said KCSARC Executive Director Mary Ellen Stone, adding that the process of opening the office in Redmond started in the summer and came together pretty quickly.

KCSARC, which was founded in 1976, works with individuals of all ages who are affected by sexual violence and abuse, as well as their families. The organization offers therapy and treatment and advocates on victims’ behalf. Stone said they also help people navigate the legal process as not many people are that familiar with the criminal justice system — going with people to police interviews, preparing them for trial and more. KCSARC offers services in English and Spanish as well as a 24-hour resource line at 888-99-VOICE or (888) 998-6423. For more information, visit kcsarc.org.

“The EvergreenHealth/KCSARC program demonstrates innovation and community involvement by providing onsite access to state-of-the-art empirically based therapies for (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other emotional and behavioral conditions among patients affected by abuse and trauma,” Stone said in a press release issued by KCSARC. “With KCSARC onsite at EvergreenHealth, we can be on the front line with victims of sexual assault and their families. Last year we assisted over 200 Eastside residents in addition to victims throughout King County. This partnership will ensure that Eastside victims of sexual assault and their families receive the help they need.”

With a new office in Redmond, she said it will be easier for KCSARC and EvergreenHealth to connect with each other.

“Makes it much more convenient for people,” she said. “When you have a physical presence, it really does make a difference in terms of how you work together.”

Barb Jensen — trauma and preparedness program manager and forensic nurse examiner team manager for EvergreenHealth — is equally excited about a KCSARC opening on the Eastside.

“For me, it’s really huge,” she said.

Jensen said bringing KCSARC to EvergreenHealth came about after she was asked to take the lead on their forensic nurse examiner team about a year ago. In an effort to rejuvenate the team, she met with their various partnering groups — one of which is KCSARC. Jensen learned that one of the issues KCSARC had been facing was providing services for people in north King County while being located in Renton. From these discussions came a “meeting of the minds” as the two agencies worked to bring KCSARC to the Eastside.

“I wanted to know that my patients had immediate access to the services that KCSARC offers,” Jensen said. “They can get (help) close to home, in their own hospital, in their own neighborhoods.”

She said having the followup services KCSARC offers so close is “priceless.”

Forensic nurse examiners — who go through 40 hours (56 hours, beginning in 2014) of training — work with victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence, performing physical exams, taking pictures of injuries and collecting evidence. Jensen said collecting evidence can include taking swabs from injuries, collecting hair samples and gathering clothes and packaging them to specific legal standards. The evidence is either turned in to the police or preserved and stored indefinitely, for if victims decide to press charges. In addition, forensic nurse examiners fill out a nine-page document about the incident, which can be used in court if needed and they can testify in court if needed, Jensen said.

She said although they are supposed to be impartial, being a forensic nurse examiner can take its toll as they work so closely with the victims and it can be difficult to take such tragedies home.

Another benefit of having KCSARC in Redmond, Jensen said, is that the organization also offers support to the nurses if needed.

In addition, the KCSARC/EvergreenHealth partnership provides a service location for KCSARC’s Project 360, which addresses the prevalence of sexual assault among homeless youth, according to the KCSARC press release.

The release also stated that people can access counseling and prevention/education services at the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress in the Together Center in downtown Redmond.