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San Francisco General Hospital
Emergency Department
23rd Street and Potrero Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415-206-8000

• Medical Exam
• Collection of forensic evidence, generally up to five days following the assault, along with consultation with a Nurse Practitioner.
• Medications to prevent against sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and preganancy
• Clinical folow-up (medication refills, test results, follow-up photos)

Any survivor of sexual assault (or suspected sexual assault) age 18 and over who was assaulted in San Francisco can come to the San Francisco General Hospital, located at 1001 Potrero Avenue (see map below), for services. There is no charge to the patient or her/his insurance. San Francisco General Hospital is the only Rape Treatement Center in San Francisco. If you are under age 18, you will be seen by the Nurses from the Child/Adolescent Sexual Abuse Resource Center (CASARC) in the Pediatric Department at SFGH.



When you arrive, youw ill first speak to a nurse at the triage window. You can tell him or her that you were raped, or you can say that you need to see someone from "RTC." This person at the triage window will take your vital signs (blood pressure, etc.) and ask if anything is hurting on your body. You will then go to the Registration area or directly to a patient care area ()where someone will come to fill out the registration papers). our Nurse Practitioners are available 24 hours a day. Unless we are with another patient, your wait time will be 5 to 30 minutes (most often the case).

Once you are in a private room, you will be offered a choice of services. These include:

• a medical exam
• collection of forensic evidence
• Medications to prevent against sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and pregnancy when appropriate
• A follow-up appointment two to seven days later with a nurse Practitioner and counselor.

You can choose all, some, or none of the above option. There is never any pressure to talk with the police or file a police report. If you need more time to decide what to do regarding legal action, we can collect evidence and hold it for 3 months while you decide. Nurse Practitioners are "mandatory reporters," which means we need to inform the police that you were hurt, however we can ask that you not be contacted.

Whenever you are there, you will also be able to have friends or family with you. While you are in the Emergency Department seeing the Nurse Practitioner, you will also be offered advocacy services. There is no set order of services. We follow your needs. The components are as follows:



You will be given a medical exam. When indicated, we can also provide medications to prevent common sexually transmitted diseases. We can also discuss preventing HIV, pregnancy, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Hepatitis B when appropriate. HIV prevention may be available only if seen within 72 hours of the assault (see section "Information on HIV prevention medication (Combivir)."



During the basic physical (or instead if you choose), we use cotton swabs (Q-tips) to collect possible evidence. We decide where to touch the swabs based on your description of the events, how your skin looks under a special light, if you have washed or not, and what we see during the exam. We also take photographs if there is visible injury and you allow us to do so. If you require a genital exam, it will be much like one with a regular docot or nurse practioner. If at any point you are uncomfortable, ttell the examiner, and she will stop.



Our clinic is near SFGH (click on map link below). At your appointment, you will see a nurse Practitioner for any test results or refill of medication. She might also take follow-up photographs if you have filed a police report. You will also get a chance to speak with a TRC/RTC counselor to see how you're doing, and decide if our counseling is appropriate for you. | MAP |




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