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UPDATED: Domestic Abuse Response Team assisting hospital patients

New program for Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre
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Members of Alberta Health Services (AHS) Central Zone and The Outreach Centre talk about the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART), a new program at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. Officials included were Allan Sinclair, executive director in Red Deer with AHS Central Zone; Ronnie Biletsky, co-ordinator of the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Response Team with AHS; and Barb Barber, executive director of The Outreach Centre. (Photo by Susan Zielinski/Advocate staff)

A new program has given emergency department patients in Red Deer access to 24-hour family violence crisis intervention.

Since April 1 a total of 88 patients have been referred to the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) who can discuss safety concerns and provide support and referrals to available services.

Seven DART members are on call to go right to the emergency department at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre to speak to patients.

Allan Sinclair, executive director in Red Deer with Alberta Health Services (AHS) Central Zone, said about one per cent of patients who come through emergency are subject to violence at home.

“That’s a very significant number given the number of patients we see in the hospital. We have real concern about those patients and their well-being,” said Sinclair at an event at the hospital on Wednesday to publicly announce DART.

Red Deer hospital has partnered with The Outreach on DART. Funding for two years has come from AHS Family Violence Prevention Treatment Program.

“We wish we didn’t have to have these services. We’re glad that they are here, but no one should be subjected to domestic violence,” Sinclair said.

Barb Barber, executive director of The Outreach Centre, said attached to those 88 patients were 107 children.

“There’s been nine of the 88 referrals that have been male victims of violence so I think it’s very telling. This is a community issue and a society issue, not a gender issue. We’re really, really happy that we’re able to provide those services to those families,” Barber said.

She said DART reaches people right at the point of crisis.

“It’s not that we’re providing them with overwhelming information and counselling services at that point. What we’re really telling them is you’re not alone. Here’s some resources. We’re here to help you. Let us get you connected to somebody and provide those ongoing services.”

She said as far as she was aware there were no other programs like DART in Alberta.

“We’re hard pressed to find it even in Canada. We’re actually really quite excited about being able to be very creative and innovative in providing supports to victims of domestic violence that other people don’t have.”

Barber said DART has demonstrated that when people come together and pool their resources great things can happen.

Ronnie Biletsky, co-ordinator of the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Response Team at the emergency department, said nurses are now feeling more comfortable asking the domestic violence question. Before DART nurses felt they didn’t have much to offer patients if patients said yes.

“This team comes in and meets that patient at that point of crisis and the patient feels like they were truly heard,” Biletsky said.

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