NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Launches Kings CARES Program for Survivors of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Launches Kings CARES Program for Survivors of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

Jan 28, 2026

NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County today announced the launch of the Kings CARES program for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Patients who arrive at the hospital with trauma from sexual assault and domestic violence are already treated by a dedicated team in the emergency department, called the Sexual Assault Response Team. For the first time, the Kings CARES practice will ensure all of their follow-up care is centralized in one place, overseen by a dedicated team who has received specialized training for serving this population through the hospital's Clinical Forensic Medicine Fellowship. Follow-up care for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence can include obstetric and gynecologic care, behavioral health care, and neurologic care for patients who experienced traumatic brain injuries. In addition to clinical care, the Kings CARES team provides survivors with comprehensive forensic and social support, including injury documentation and direct connections to financial assistance, insurance, and housing resources, including the city's domestic violence shelters. Through partnerships with New York City's five District Attorney's offices and the NYC Family Justice Centers, survivors are seamlessly connected to free, confidential services for victims of domestic and gender-based violence. In 2025, Kings County Hospital served thousands of patients who had experienced sexual assault or domestic violence. The NYPD has reported a 22% increase in rapes citywide from 2024 to 2025, with 566 rapes in Brooklyn alone. As a SAFE Center of Excellence, Kings County Hospital responds daily to these victims and survivors. The hospital also runs the Clinical Forensic Medicine Fellowship, the only fellowship of its kind that provides a one-year training program designed to build leaders in the field of clinical forensics for emergency medicine.

"Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are among the most vulnerable individuals who come through the sliding doors of our emergency department, carrying not only physical injuries but emotional wounds that are often unseen," said Keesandra K. Agenor, MD, Medical Director of Brooklyn Sexual Assault Response Teams at NYC Health + Hospitals. "For too long, invisible barriers have kept many from returning for the follow up care they desperately need. Kings CARES is a place where safety is not just promised but felt - a space where survivors can breathe, be heard, and receive care without the fear of getting lost in the system that was created to serve them."

"Survivors of gender-based violence often face challenges accessing timely medical and forensic care due to safety concerns and social barriers," said Priyanka Datta, MD, Medical Director of Kings Cares and Director of the Clinical Forensic Medicine Fellowship at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. "Kings CARES addresses these obstacles by providing trauma-informed, patient-centered forensic care, with coordinated access to legal advocacy and survivor support through our partnerships with the District Attorney's offices and NYC Family Justice Centers."

"True recovery for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence requires a system that treats the whole person-mind and body alike," said Obianuju Berry, MD, MPH, Medical Director of NYC Health + Hospitals Maternal, Infant, and Domestic Violence Mental Health Services. "NYC Health + Hospitals has long been a safe space for survivors through our work pioneering work with survivor emotional wellbeing with our Family Justice Centers Mental Health Program and Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative. With the launch of Kings CARES, we are expanding that safe space to include comprehensive, long-term medical and forensic follow-up. This program is the critical link that ensures survivors are supported not just in the immediate aftermath of trauma, but throughout their entire journey toward physical and emotional stability."

"Kings CARES strengthens New York City's response to domestic and gender-based violence by ensuring survivors receive compassionate, specialized forensic follow-up care," said Saloni Sethi, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV). "The program addresses critical gaps in care for survivors of non-fatal strangulation, one of the most dangerous and often overlooked forms of intimate partner violence. By bringing together NYC Health + Hospitals, Family Justice Centers and District Attorneys' Offices, Kings CARES transforms how systems respond to harm by providing survivors with timely access to free, trauma-informed forensic medical care, documentation and pathways to justice on their own terms."

Today's announcement builds on Kings County Hospital's robust services to respond to cases of domestic and gender-based violence. The hospital runs the Clinical Forensic Medicine Fellowship, the only fellowship of its kind in New York State, which provides a one-year training program designed to build leaders in the field of clinical forensics for emergency medicine. The fellowship teaches clinicians to identify and care for victims of violence and trauma, prevent the destruction of potential evidence, assist in legal proceedings, and recognize and document patterns of violence and abusive behavior. The fellowship incorporates evidence collection, crime scene exposure, analyzing witness testimonials, and Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) practices. At the end of the fellowship, the clinicians are better able to support victims of abuse by recognizing and reporting violent patterns of abuse such as ligatures, strangulation, and bindings. Three physicians have been trained through the fellowship since its launch in 2022.

In July, NYC Health + Hospitals announced the expansion of its $5.9 million Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative, which increases access to evidence-based mental health services for families residing in the city's domestic violence shelters. The program is now available at 41 domestic violence shelters. NYC Health + Hospitals' staff have conducted over 5,600 behavioral health appointments and served over 700 patients through this initiative since launching in late 2022. Residents of participating domestic violence shelters are now able to see a mental health specialist within one week, compared to previously waiting six months to one year for an appointment.

Patient Aisha Wilson also shared her story about leaving her abusive relationship and moving with her two teenage children into one of the City's domestic violence shelters, where she found free mental health support for herself and her son and the resources to build a new life for her family. Read her story here.

In addition, the health system has two mental health clinics for survivors at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. The clinics provide trauma-informed mental health services, including screenings, individual and group sessions, and medication management. Patients can be referred to the clinics by any one of the city's domestic violence shelters or to the Family Justice Centers operated by the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV). Family Justice Centers are walk-in centers that provide critical social services to survivors and build on NYC Health + Hospitals' work to provide clinical services, including assessment and treatment, onsite.

Sexual assault survivors will receive tailored care the moment the enter any NYC Health + Hospitals emergency room, with specially trained Sexual Assault Response Teams approved by the New York State Department of Health. Sexual assault patients receive care within one hour of their arrival. The SART staff members at NYC Health + Hospitals' Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Centers of Excellence have gone through intensive training and are approved by the New York State Department of Health. Their tasks include: properly identifying, collecting and storing forensic evidence; accurately documenting injuries; and attending to the significant emotional needs of rape victims. Forensic Examiners perform a thorough evaluation including a physical examination and medical history to ensure the patient's health and safety and collect evidence of the crime. Rape Crisis Counselors help the patient recover from the physical and emotional trauma of sexual assault. NYC Health + Hospitals' assault recovery teams operate around the clock to minimize trauma to the victim and reduce the risk that critical evidence will be lost, damaged, or overlooked.

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MEDIA CONTACT: , Chief Communication Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County

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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings CountyNYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is a 639-bed acute care teaching hospital located in Central Brooklyn. Among our highly specialized programs are a Level I Trauma Center, Pediatric Emergency Room, Level 3 Perinatal Center, Heart Health Center, Stroke Center, Sickle Cell Program, Behavioral Health Center, and Diabetes Education Center of Excellence. Many of our programs have received national recognition, including our cardiac, stroke, and diabetes services. The hospital offers a broad array of primary and specialty care, including practices in neuroscience, orthopedics, urology and cardiology. Annually, our ambulatory care practices see well over 500,000 visits and more than 150,000 visits in the Behavioral Health outpatient program, in addition to close to 23,000 inpatient discharges. NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County has played a major role in providing health care to vulnerable populations in Brooklyn since 1831 and is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health care system in the nation. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/kingscounty and stay connected on Facebook at facebook.com/KingsCountyHosp or X at @KingsCountyHosp.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.