HR0769 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0769 LRB100 18035 ALS 33306 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Christy Alexander on being named the Front Line Forensic Nurse of the Year by the International Association of Forensic Nurses; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander has been in nursing for 33 years and has worked at Presence St. Mary's Hospital in Kankakee, Illinois since 1993; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander is a nurse with a special mission; in 2010, while working in Pediatric Emergency Care, she regularly encountered abused children and decided to look into forensic nursing; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, Christy Alexander received her board certification as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE); she is one of only 33 nurses in the State of Illinois certified to work with adult victims of sexual violence and one of only a dozen certified to work with children who have been sexually assaulted; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander has a desire to increase the number of SANE-certified nurses; in 2012, she founded the SANE Program at Presence St. Mary's Hospital with the goal of helping victims of sexual assault regain control of their lives; Presence St. Mary's has since added two additional SANE nurses; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander sees 50 to 70 victims of sexual assault per year, the vast majority of which are women; almost half of her patients are children; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander will present at the International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Gender Bias in Chicago in April; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander was recommended for the award by the state coordinator of SANE nurses, Jaclyn Rodriguez, and by letters of recommendation from her peers; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander also works with the local Sexual Assault Response Team, the Kankakee County Center Against Sexual Assault, the Child Network, Kankakee Community College, the Illinois State's Attorney's Office, and other health professionals to learn how to better serve victims; and

WHEREAS, Christy Alexander is a graduate of Herscher High School, Kankakee Community College, and Western Governor's University in Utah; Christy and her husband, Jim, now live in Chebanse, Illinois and have six children; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Christy Alexander on being named the Front Line Forensic Nurse of the Year by the International Association of Forensic Nurses; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Christy Alexander as an expression of our esteem and respect.