New downtown clinic opens to offer comfortable, private help for victims of abuse

There’s a new business downtown that doesn’t publish its address and likely never will.

If no one ever needs to go, that would be even better.

That’s because Hope Medical Forensic Services opened this year to serve victims of abuse.

“It is essentially a medical clinic that focuses on better health outcomes for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking . . . and elder abuse,” said founder Tina Peck.

Peck, who has a master’s degree in nursing and is a family nurse practitioner, ran the forensic nursing program for a local hospital before opening this clinic. Her experience at the hospital is what inspired her to start the clinic.

She said she “witnessed a lot of medical gaps . . . for victims of crime.”

Those gaps had to do with what victims or survivors — she uses the words interchangeably — go through once they’re at a hospital. Peck said it can be difficult for them to walk into a large hospital and have to speak with multiple people.

“There’s a waiting process as well,” she said. “It may or may not be private.”

Peck said the current state of an emergency room, including how many people are there, could affect how a trauma victim is handled.

Peck said she wanted a place to “make things much more trauma-informed.”

“I just wanted to provide a much more private environment for them to walk into,” she said.

Peck said she wants people to feel safe and comfortable and have to speak with fewer people once they arrive. It’s a smaller, quieter environment that’s focused on discreet, compassionate care.

“We created it to just be kind of a homey, warm environment,” Peck said. The clinic is “survivor-centered as soon as they walk in the door.”

Though she can treat minor wounds, Peck said she can’t treat things like lacerations or shortness of breath, so the best place for victims to receive treatments for injuries is still a hospital.

In addition to some acute care, Hope Medical offers follow-up care. Peck said she noticed a particular gap with follow-up care and wants to address it. The clinic can collect evidence as well.

Hope Medical works with community partners, such as domestic violence centers and the Wichita Police Department. Peck said she works with hospitals as well, including the one where she used to work.

According to the Hope Medical website, “1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.”

Peck said she wants to help people who wouldn’t normally go to a hospital for medical care. She said a lot of victims don’t seek help.

“It’s basically just about giving the patients options.”