Four Corners CAC Hires First SANE via UCHealth to Expand Medical-Forensic Care

The Four Corners Child Advocacy Center announced Feb. 14, 2026 that, through a partnership with UCHealth, it hired its first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) to expand onsite medical-forensic services for child victims in the Four Corners region. The center said the move will increase access to exams and clinical support for children who come to the center from towns such as Farmington and surrounding communities.

Last year the center served more than 250 children from the surrounding region, including Farmington; about 75% of those cases were sexual assault and 25% involved other forms of abuse, underscoring demand for onsite SANE services. The addition of a dedicated SANE is intended to keep more medical-forensic care inside the child-centered setting the center provides.

Natalia Lobato, identified in the center’s announcement as the new SANE nurse, started at the center in January and will begin her duties as a SANE nurse once she completes training. Lobato grew up in the area, is raising her children in the community with her husband, and first became interested in forensic nursing while studying at Pueblo Community College Southwest, calling the work a personal calling. She previously worked in several departments at Southwest Memorial Hospital and had been “committed to her work at Southwest Memorial” before being approached by the center; Lobato said she felt the Lord “opened the doors” at the Child Advocacy Center.

The new position is possible through a partnership with UCHealth, which provided equipment for SANE exams and supports SANE exams through a specialized telehealth system. A photo supplied with the announcement shows SANE nurse Natalia Lobato (left) with UCHealth’s Tammy Kuehl and Megan McCulley posing in the examination room with the equipment provided by UCHealth. The center says the equipment and telehealth support will expand the range of medical-forensic options available onsite.

The Four Corners Child Advocacy Center was established by Dr. Robert Heyl in the 1990s as “a place where children suffering from abuse can be heard, believed and cared for while working through trauma.” The center’s physical space is intentionally calm and child-focused, described as “a warm and welcoming environment filled with colorful art, twinkle lights and rooms of stuffed animals.” Staff recently organized newly donated stuffed animals on the waiting-room couches so children visiting the center can choose one to take home.

When the idea of hiring a full-time nurse was raised, Lobato’s name came up repeatedly; the search for a full-time nurse had been underway for years. The addition of SANE nurse Natalia Lobato supports that mission and brings onsite medical-forensic capacity to the Four Corners region that serves families from Farmington and neighboring communities, including those in Dolores County. (Photo courtesy; Bailey Duran/Special to The Journal.)