SBU Nursing School Dean Honored for Community Service by VIBS
Dr. Lee Xippolitos helped start Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program at SBUH
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STONY BROOK, N.Y., March 11, 2013 – Lee Xippolitos, RN, PhD, CARN, CS, NPP, CNAA, BC, Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Nursing, has received the Community Service Award from the Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk County (VIBS) in recognition of her efforts to establish the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Center at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH).
Dr. Xippolitos received the award “for her role in establishing a SANE Center at Stony Brook University and for partnering with VIBS to establish a training program for forensic nurse examiners,” said Pamela Johnston, Executive Director of VIBS Family Violence and Rape Crisis Center. “These specially trained nurses provide compassionate healthcare to traumatized survivors, while collecting evidence that will be crucial for police investigation and the DA’s prosecution.”
“To be honored by VIBS is quite thrilling,” Dr. Xippolitos said in accepting the award during a March 7 ceremony in St. James, NY. “The people that VIBS touches are people in need. Those who work at VIBS are pioneers in the field of intimate violence, and their services bring hope to thousands of individuals, adults and children on Long Island.”
A long-time volunteer with VIBS, Dr. Xippolitos helped establish the SANE Center at SBUH in 2009. The center is a collaborative effort among VIBS Family Violence and Rape Crisis Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook University Hospital, the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Staffed by Registered Nurses with advanced education and critical preparation in the forensic examination of sexual assault victims, the center provides comprehensive evidence collection for more effective investigations and better prosecutions, while preserving the victim’s dignity and reducing psychological trauma. Last year, Stony Brook’s SANE Center saw 121 victims in the hospital’s Emergency Department, Dr. Xippolitos said.
“Our School of Nursing continues to work closely with VIBS educational outreach programs,” Dr. Xippolitos said. In particular, she cited the work of Marie Ann Marino, EdD, RN, PNP, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a certified forensic nurse, who educates Stony Brook nurses who aspire to become SANE nurses. SANE nurses are on call 24 hours a day to meet the needs of victims who are brought into any of Suffolk County’s three SANE centers, located at Stony Brook, Good Samaritan Hospital and Peconic Bay Medical Center. The SANE program has operated in Suffolk County since 1999.
“The work that these nurses do honors the victim’s right to make choices about medical and emotional care, as well as legal prosecution,” Dr. Xippolitos said.
A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Xippolitos received her AS degree in Nursing from Farmingdale College. She received her bachelor of science and master of science in nursing degrees from Stony Brook University School of Nursing, and she completed her PhD in Nursing at Adelphi University. As Dean of the School of Nursing, she is responsible for more than 1,000 student nurses.
Dr. Xippolitos is certified as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and as a Nurse Practitioner in psychiatric nursing. She is certified as a Nurse Administrator through the American Nurses Credentialing Board and is a member of American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and New York Organization of Nurse Executives, serving on AONE’s International Committee. She is a charter member and past president of Kappa Gamma Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau, International, the international honor society for nursing.
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About Stony Brook Medicine:
Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook University’s health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools — Dental Medicine, Health Technology and Management, Medicine, Nursing and Social Welfare — as well as Stony Brook University Hospital and 50 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
About VIBS:
Established in 1976, VIBS has been a pioneer in the domestic violence and rape crisis movements. Its mission is to assist survivors of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault; to prevent the incidence of these crimes through education and services; and to raise community awareness of the need for justice and compassion for victims. For more information, visit www.vibs.org.
© Stony Brook University 2012
