by McKinnon Rice, Fort Worth Report
October 27, 2026

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, presented a $1 million check to JPS Health Network on Tuesday to support the hospital system’s forensic nursing program.

The earmarked funds will allow JPS to expand its staff of forensic nurse examiners — professionals specially trained to provide medical care for victims and properly preserve evidence.

“I believe this investment will help expand that work and bring the expertise to more communities and helping victims truly get the help that they need,” Veasey said at the event.

The hospital system’s forensic nursing program cares for individuals in seven counties. In 2025, JPS forensic nurses treated more than 1,480 patients who were victims of violence, including by conducting 364 sexual assault exams. So far this year, the forensic nursing program has cared for 1,196 violence victims and conducted 285 sexual assault exams.

Forensic nurses collect sexual assault kits — also known as rape kits — that hold DNA and other evidence gathered when victims choose to undergo an exam. The nurses also provide medical treatment, offer emotional support and can help a victim report the crime to the police if they wish to do so. 

“For someone who has experienced assault or another form of violence, the decision to seek medical attention can require tremendous courage, and in those moments, the care they receive can make a lasting difference,” said Dr. Karen Duncan, president and CEO of JPS.

JPS currently employs 10 forensic nurse examiners — including three full time and seven on a call team who can respond when full-time staff are unavailable. With the funding, JPS will hire more full-time staff with the goal of having a forensic nurse examiner always on shift in the hospital, said Priscilla Kenyon, who manages JPS’s forensic nursing program. The hospital system hopes to expand the on-call team to about 20 members and add three additional staff nurses, she told the Fort Worth Report.

Priscilla Kenyon, JPS manager of Forensic Nursing Services, speaks at John Peter Smith Hospital on Oct. 27, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Elvis Martinez-Cartagena | Fort Worth Report)

Limited staffing can lead to wait times for victims. Due to the time-sensitive nature of evidence collection in cases of sexual assault, the team sometimes has to prioritize victims of sexual assault ahead of vicitms of intimate partner violence, Kenyon said

“With the expansion efforts, we’ll be able to have that backup person on call who can come in and provide that victim with the same services,” she said.

The funding complements the $1.3 million Tarrant County, the city of Fort Worth and UNT Health Fort Worth received in April for DNA testing — including of rape kits.

McKinnon Rice is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org. 

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