INNOVATION AWARD – THERESA FLESVIG

work, she decided to make a change. Not only did she need extra income, but, she said, “I wanted it to be a job worth my time. Ron and I saw a TV ad about a nursing shortage. And, Ron thought I would be a great nurse.”

So, she went for it. Flesvig graduated with her bachelor’s of nursing in 2006 from the College of St. Scholastica. She has been employed with Essentia since 2006, and with PAVSA since 2007.

Vulnerable patients

In her work as a PAVSA SANE, Flesvig encounters patients who have suffered unbelievable trauma. She treats men, women and even youth who are victims of sexual assault.

initiative can eventually be expanded to other facilities in the area, such as prisons.

Nomination

Flesvig was nominated for this award by Westerlund.

“For the past 15 months, Theresa has been working in partnership with Arrowhead Juvenile Corrections (AJC) on a pilot project offering sexual assault examinations on-site at AJC.

This innovative approach would prevent re-traumatization of the youth disclosing sexual violence, and would allow patient-centered care to take place on-site at the facility.

By Andrea Busche

In the medical field, there is one primary goal: help the patient get better. But there are always ways to improve.

The Innovation Award is bestowed to a nurse who has created or implemented a process or program in their field, making improvements in the areas of efficiency, safety and education.

Theresa Flesvig has been named the winner of this special honor.

In her work as a PAVSA

SANE nurse (Program for

Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault sexual assault nurse examiner), Flesvig treats victims of sexual assault. One of Flesvig’s innovative suggestions is making this frightening time just a bit easier for a specific subset of her patients.

Double duty

In addition to her 72 monthly on-call hours with the PAVSA SANE program, where she travels to hospitals in Superior, Duluth and Two Harbors to treat victims of sexual assault, Flesvig is also an RN in the emergency department at Essentia Health.

Flesvig, a lifelong Duluthian, initially earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she double-majored in communications and English. She spent the first decade of her career working in television.

After marrying her husband Ron and having five children, Flesvig stayed home for a few years. Upon returning to

“It can be tough responding to these cases,” she said, “But, I had to get in the mindset that if I can be the one person who listens to them, validates their experience, and makes them feel valuable, as well as give help and comfort, well – that’s what I wanted to do.”

After attending a presentation and learning about a medical facility that offered a mobile exam unit, Flesvig wanted to pursue the idea here in the Northland. After much work from the entire PAVSA team, including grant writing and other efforts from Em Westerlund, SANE coordinator, a pilot project for patients at Arrowhead Juvenile Corrections is in the works. The PAVSA team hopes this

“Currently, if a youth at the detention facility discloses sexual violence, that youth must be searched, handcuffed and securely transported to a local hospital in order to receive a sexual assault, or SANE, exam.

“Theresa’s leadership in the PAVSA SANE program is a second job that she takes on because of her passion for helping survivors of sexual violence,” Westerlund added. “She is dedicated to the profession, and is a leader in the field of forensic nursing.”

Of receiving the award, Flesvig said, “This is very humbling. I know my name is on the award, but it’s really an entire team of people making this initiative happen.”