St. Tammany coroner sued over elimination of sexual assault nurse program [Video]

The St. Tammany Parish coroner is being sued by area coroners over his decision to eliminate a sexual assault nurse examiner program. Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerald Cvitanovich confirmed to WDSU that area coroners have joined in on a lawsuit challenging the decision. A sexual assault nurse examiner is a registered nurse who has specialized training in the care and treatment of patients who have been sexually assaulted, according to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s website.Christopher Tape, who has been the topic of scrutiny over past allegations of sexual abuse, made the announcement of getting rid of the program in a news release last week. The elimination of the program would require hospitals to take over sexual assault exams.Tape says no patients will be affected by the change and that the exams have always been done at the hospital and never at the coroner’s office.According to Tape, the program should not …