(a) Upon the request of a qualifying hospital, i.e., hospitals licensed under article 28 of the Public Health Law that have an emergency department and meet the qualification specified herein, the department may designate that hospital as having an approved Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Program. Such hospital program shall meet the standards for treatment of sexual assault victims and maintenance of sexual offense evidence established in section 405.9(c) of this Title and shall also make available to survivors, on a 24-hour per day basis, specially trained sexual assault forensic examiners. Such programs:

1. (1) may also be referred to as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) Programs;
2. (2) are comprehensive and designed to meet the needs of survivors of sexual assault by providing not only medical care but also forensic examinations in a private setting conducted by specially trained sexual assault forensic examiners;
3. (3) are designed to provide specialized standards of medical care and evidence collection that support recovery and prevent further injury or illness arising from the trauma for all survivors and may increase the successful prosecution of sex offenders for survivors who choose to report the crime to law enforcement; and
4. (4) coordinate an interdisciplinary collaborative effort involving a hospital-based SAFE Program, a rape crisis center, law enforcement, the prosecutor's office and other appropriate service agencies. These organizations provide a coordinated response that not only effectively meets the needs of the sexual assault survivor but also can improve the overall community response to sexual assault.