THE STANDARD M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
VOLUME 112, ISSUE 14 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
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SPD responds to CNN probe of rape kit destruction EMILY COLE | HANNA SUMPTER News Editor | Deputy News Editor
Bailey Donnellan, a junior criminology major, visited Magers recently due to the flu. Donnellan said not only was the service quick and efficient, but she said the staff was personable, making it easy to place her trust in those responsible for her recovery. After using Magers Psychiatry and Counseling Services, senior fashion merchandising major Erin Kiely was not surprised to hear about their perfect score. “I’ve never had a bad experience at Magers,” Kiely said. “The staff has always been accommodating and understanding. They’re definitely deserving of a perfect score.”
On Nov. 29, CNN released an investigation on how law enforcement across the country, including the Springfield Police Department, handles evidence from sexual assault cases. The article “Where police failed rape victims,” is one of several in an investigative series about the destruction of rape kits. Later on Thursday, SPD released a statement in response to the article. The article discusses SPD detectives and officers who repeatedly trashed evidence from rape cases. CNN reporters reviewed 200 sexual assault cases where rape kits — collections of evidence from sexual assaults — were destroyed. From those cases, 108 kits were destroyed before the end of the statute of limitations or belonged to cases with no time limit. The CNN article states: “The (Springfield Police) Department stood out for the variety and volume of investigative shortcomings that led to rape kit destruction and how quickly the agency trashed the evidence after cases were closed. Dozens of untested kits were destroyed in a year or less after victims reported being assaulted.” On Friday, Police Chief Paul Williams said he was “disappointed” in CNN’s coverage of the department when he spoke to press Friday morning. Williams said the SPD worked with CNN for two years on the article, helping them gather information and answering questions. However, Williams said he was under the impression that CNN’s coverage would focus more on the current work the department is doing with sexual assault cases as well as the department’s goals for the future. “I’m disappointed that they failed to talk about the three years worth of reform that we already had in place between the time we started and they got here,” Williams said. “Instead they chose to focus on all that time before we started making changes.” In the statement, SPD acknowledged that some allegations made in the CNN article, including that all of the cases referenced were from 2012 or before and that the department was understaffed and under-resourced at the time of the cases, are true. According to the report, “The shift in how society approaches sexual assault and domestic violence has been significant and resulted in changes to how policing agencies serve these victims. In some places, law enforcement has been slow to adjust; but SPD has been, and will continue to be, proactive in implementing new and improved practices in responding to and investigating such crimes. “A Nov. 29, 2018, CNN story does not portray an accurate representation of SPD as a whole, especially regarding our current practices and procedures investigating sexual assault cases. As cultural shifts in society lead us toward victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches in investigating all crimes, including sexual assault, SPD is at the forefront.” The SPD report mentions updated practices implemented since the years focused
u See MAGERS, page 8
u See SPD, page 9
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Army ROTC Cadet Staff Sgt. Perrin Yates gives orders to cadets during a Bear Battalion Leadership Lab at Fellows Lake on Nov. 8. They practice movement techniques designed to hone their communication and leadership skills and prepare them for combat. See the full story featuring the Bear Battalion on Page 4.
‘The best possible care’ Magers receives first perfect accreditation score REESE RADMACHER Staff Reporter @Reese_Radmacher Magers Health and Wellness Center at Missouri State University recently received its first perfect score following its eighth re-accreditation survey by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. Magers was initially accredited by the AAAHC in 1997. Attaining a perfect score from AAAHC involves a complex process that is scored based on eight core standards, with some standards containing subchapters that are followed by subsets. The standards are checked as either substantially compliant, partially compliant, non-compliant or not applicable. Compliance is then evaluated by means of either documented evidence, answers to detailed questions or on-site observations and interviews by surveyors, according to the AAAHC handbook. Dr. Frederick Muegge, director of Health and Wellness Services at Magers, said that when grading systems look at a wide range of factors, a perfect score is somewhat of a rare occurrence. “We feel that this sort of affirms we’re heading in the right direction,” Muegge said. “We’re doing the right processes to achieve that goal — the best possible care for patients, as conveniently and inexpensively as possible.” One standard that faculty and staff at Magers worked hard to achieve is quality management improvement, which includes a subchapter on risk management. Muegge said nearly everyone in the health center participated in a few large 10-step stud-
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The Magers Health and Wellness Center, which opened in March 2018, offers physical and mental health resources to students and faculty at MSU. ies throughout the course of two to three years, with an intention to “improve discharge planning for patients so that when they leave, they have a clear understanding of what we feel they need to do to help their health.” However, this is only one example of how Magers is working to provide the best possible care based on AAAHC standards. There are numerous other ways Magers has worked to meet the additional standards. Other core standards include: patients’ rights and responsibilities, governance, administration, quality of care provided, quality management and improvement, clinical records and health information, infection prevention and control of safety as well as facilities and environment.
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