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Joan Meunier-Sham, RN, MS is our currently featured author.  She co-authored the article Laying the Foundation for the National TeleNursing Center: Integration of the Quality-Caring Model Into TeleSANE Practice published in the July/September 2019 Journal of Forensic Nursing

Joan Meunier-Sham, RN, MS is the Director of the MA Department of Public Health’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program, and is responsible for the statewide delivery of acute Adult/Adolescent SANE services in 31 MA hospitals, and the delivery of Pediatric SANE services in 8 of the state’s 12 Children’s Advocacy Centers.  She is also the Co-Director of the National TeleNursing Center, a pilot project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime.  In this pioneering project, TeleSANEs at the National TeleNursing Center use telemedicine technology to provide 24/7 “real time” support and guidance to clinicians conducting forensic examinations for adult/adolescent sexual assault patients in underserved communities.  The NTC has provided services to over 270 patients in 3 hospitals in Arizona, California and Massachusetts.  

Prior to these roles, Ms. Meunier-Sham was the Associate Director of the MA Pediatric SANE Program.  In that role she had primary responsibility for the development and implementation of Pediatric SANE services across Massachusetts.  Ms. Meunier-Sham has a clinical background in pediatric and pediatric emergency nursing.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and her Master of Science degree in Parent/Child Nursing from Boston University.  Ms. Meunier-Sham has presented nationally and internationally on the MA SANE Program and National TeleNursing Center, and has authored several professional publications.