cause we have the facilities to do it here. So, the child is able to come here versus the ER. … This is a way more child-friendly environment. …
“ Our nurses are wonderful. They sit down and talk to a child. Most of them have children, are used to that. Or just great with our kids.”
She said while a child has to go through a traumatic exam, they feel comfortable. They’ re talking to a nurse who is invested in what’ s happening to them as well, she said.
The nurses are Melinda Sanderson, SANE RN; Heather Grace Dismuke, SANE RN; Ashley Bostick, SANE RN; Hannah Ahmed, SANE RN; and Ashley Ortega, SANE RN.
They will also have an office for her child advocate, Denise Pope, which she’ s never had before, she said, and an office for law enforcement if they needed to privately follow up with a family.
“ The children will have an area that is designated for them, with their parents there with them, to get comfortable,” she said.“ We didn’ t have that before.”
She said that there will also be a conference room and a room for her interpreters, Laura Folsom and Jackie Angel, and added,“ I have interpreters that are contract people. My advocate is a contract person and then, my five nurses are contract people.”
“ Other CACs have a hard time keeping nurses, finding nurses that are willing to be on call. I don’ t pay my nurses for
Executive Director Regina Dismuke said the new facility will give them more room to hold multidisciplinary team meetings, more office space, a generously sized waiting room with an area for kids to play, a conference room, plenty of storage space and enough room to provide the best service and care to their children and families.
being on call. They don’ t require that of us. I mean, I called them at 2 in the morning and they come.”
She added that she came at 2 in the morning, and the advocate was the same way.
She said longtime pediatrician Dr. Patricia June is the medical director of the center, and she has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to abuse and neglect.
“ We are available for our children that come through here, 24-7,” she said.
Hero House receives funding from United Way, which has always been a big supporter. They also receive money from Child Advocacy Centers of Georgia, their“ mother agency” in Atlanta.
“ This community has kept this center here for 24 years.”
She said, the doors have always been open for anybody. They served 154 children last year with forensic interviews, she said, which was the most ever. She said they did 13 child medical exams, and six adult medical exams.
“ We service adults when it comes to sexual assault, as well.” The community supported 124 kids at Christmas who came through the center, she said.
“ At Christmas, when our families come, and they see what our community has done for them, they are just so grateful,” she said.“ In any situation where you see that you’ ve helped someone and you see that they are thankful for that, it just makes you grow.”
Also, in the new building, she said, there will be a room for the stuffed animals and other toys where a child, coming out of an interview, can go and choose one to take with them. Southern Regional Technical College collects teddy bears for Hero House every year and the toys are currently stored in a closet, where the child goes to get one.
She said the importance of the stuffed animal was that a child could leave the facility with something that gave them some sort of comfort.
APRIL 2025 MoultrieScene 23