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Attorney general awards dozens of medical centers for compliance with rape kits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Attorney Gen. Eric Schmitt has awarded more than four dozen of the state’s hospitals and medical centers that are in compliance with testing rape kits.

Schmitt’s office sent 49 hospitals across Missouri a “Healthcare Community Partner Award” for completing 100 percent of the inventory of untested sexual assault kits as part of the SAFE Kit Initiative, according to data provided to The Missouri Times. The awards were distributed in March and April.

“In order to clear out the backlog of untested sexual assault kits in Missouri through the SAFE Kit Initiative, cooperation from hospitals and healthcare partners is essential,” Schmitt said in a statement to The Missouri Times. “Numerous hospitals, clinics, and medical centers across the state have been more than helpful in ensuring the success of this initiative. I want to thank them for their cooperation, and I look forward to continuing to work with healthcare agencies across the state in the coming months.”

Schmitt’s office has made tackling the more than 5,000 untested rape kits in the state — as well as creating a statewide protocol for how they are handled — a priority for his tenure. With federal grant money, Schmitt’s office is first focused on collecting an “inventory” of the untested kits before creating a tracking system and ultimately testing the kits. He also picked Judge M. Keithley Williams to lead the SAFE Kit Initiative.

“Reporting a sexual assault is an incredibly brave act, and we want to honor that bravery by ensuring that those untested sexual assault kits don’t sit on a shelf for years,” Schmitt said.

The awarded hospitals and medical centers are:

  • Barnes Jewish Hospital Psychiatric Support in St. Louis City
  • Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis City
  • Black River Community Medical Center in Butler County
  • Capital Region Medical Center in Cole County
  • Center for Behavioral Medicine in Jackson County
  • Citizens Memorial Hospital in Polk County
  • Community Hospital Association in Atchison County
  • Crittenton Children’s Hospital in Jackson County
  • Fort Leonard Wood VA Clinic in Pulaski County
  • Freeman Health System – East in Newton County
  • Ft. Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital in Pulaski County
  • Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Boone County
  • Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in St. Louis County
  • Hermann Area District Hospital in Gasconade County
  • Iron County Medical Center in Iron County
  • Jefferson City VA Clinic in Cole County
  • Kansas City Honor Annex in Jackson County
  • Kindred Hospital – St. Louis in St. Louis City
  • Kindred Hospital in St. Louis County
  • Kirksville VA Clinic in Adair County
  • Landmark Hospital in Boone County
  • Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau County
  • Macon County Samaritan Memorial Hospital in Macon County
  • Madison Medical Center in Madison County
  • Mercy Hospital in St. Louis County
  • Mercy Rehab Hospital in St. Louis County
  • Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph in Buchanan County
  • Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Center in Buchanan County
  • Ozarks Medical Center in Howell County
  • Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Cooper County
  • Putnam County Memorial Hospital in Putnam County
  • Rehab Institute of St. Louis in St. Louis City
  • Research Medical Center – Brookside in Jackson County
  • Rusk Rehabilitation Hospital in Boone County
  • Salem Memorial District Hospital in Dent County
  • Salem VA Clinic in Dent County
  • Sedalia VA Clinic in Pettis County
  • Southeast Health Center in Stoddard County
  • Southeast Health in Cape Girardeau County
  • Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in St. Francois County
  • St. Charles County VA Clinic in St. Charles County
  • St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau County
  • St. James VA Clinic in Phelps County
  • St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis County
  • St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis County
  • Ste. Genevieve Memorial Hospital in Ste. Genevieve County
  • Texas County Memorial Hospital in Texas County
  • VA Healthcare System of the Ozarks in Taney County
  • West Plains VA Clinic in Howell County