Going to one hospital for a rape exam requires courage enough. Telling a woman who has come to Lawrence Memorial Hospital that she must get back in her car and travel to a hospital 30 or more miles away to receive that exam simply is asking too much.

This is a problem that law enforcement and LMH officials need to work together to solve.

The transfers to other hospitals came to the public’s attention last week when District Attorney Charles Branson wrote a pointed letter to Lawrence city commissioners and LMH President and CEO Gene Meyer. His action was prompted by the fact that two college-age women who went to LMH last weekend were told they would have to go to out-of-town hospitals to undergo rape exams.

Branson should be congratulated for drawing attention to a problem that apparently has been ongoing for some time. Meyer deserves credit for meeting with Branson and pledging to try to address this issue.

It apparently is an matter of staffing. LMH has nurses trained to conduct rape exams, but not enough nurses to handle the kind of demand that occurred last weekend. When four women came to LMH seeking rape exams within a 24-hour period, doctors decided sending two of them to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka was the best option. It may have been the best option available at the time, but it would be better for them not to have to make that choice.

Those who are fortunate enough never to have had to report a rape or undergo a rape exam can only imagine the trauma involved. For some of those women, showing up at one hospital may be as much as they can do. Some women referred to a Topeka hospital may never show up, making it impossible to collect the evidence needed to prosecute their cases.

Meyer said Thursday at a joint press conference with Branson that it’s hard to predict patient levels. That’s understandable, but a hospital has to be prepared for unusual demands in many areas. Branson said his office had agreed to help the hospital recruit and train additional nurses to deal with sexual assaults, which may help ease the situation.

This is not a time for finger-pointing; it is a time for cooperation. LMH may have been doing the best it could for these women, but the community hospital should work with other local officials to try to do a little better.