Woman arrested after babies suffered broken bones at Virginia hospital

Police arrested a 26-year-old woman after several babies in a Virginia hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) suffered “unexplainable fractures.”

Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, of Chesterfield County, faces charges of intentional injury and criminal child abuse “in connection with an incident that occurred in November 2024,” Henrico County police said in a news release Friday , obtained by People.

On Christmas Eve, Henrico Doctors Hospital announced it would “not be admitting any additional babies to our NICU at this time” after three babies were discovered with fractures in November and December 2023. The injuries were “similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023,” the hospital statement said.

HCA Virginia confirmed People that Strotman is a former employee of the hospital.

“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and strive to continue to care for our patients and provide support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally affected by this investigation,” the statement said.

“We are grateful to these colleagues who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to the law enforcement and other agencies who have worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation “, he continues, adding that the hospital will continue to focus on providing “necessary and life-saving care” to babies in the community.

Police said they reviewed dozens of videos from inside the NICU and are “reexamining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation,” according to the report.

“We appreciate the patience of the families and the public as we work as thoroughly and quickly as possible to investigate every piece of evidence related to these cases,” Henrico Police Chief Eric D. English said. in the press release.

“I would also like to recognize the unwavering efforts of our detectives who continue to sift through hundreds of hours of footage and express my sincere gratitude to Henrico Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the District Attorney’s Office Commonwealth of Henrico County and the Virginia State Police. , the Virginia Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this matter,” English added.

Regarding the most recent fractures, the hospital said in a press release in December that it had opened a “thorough internal investigation” and informed families, authorities and relevant regulators.

“Although fractures sometimes occur in premature babies because they do not fully develop fetal bones, we are actively working to determine how these fractures occurred,” the statement said, according to the report.

The hospital also said it has improved safety protocols in the NICU, including safety training programs and more thorough screenings of each baby in the NICU. The hospital said it also installed new security systems with live streaming technology.

One of the injured babies in 2023 is Noah Hackey. The baby’s parents, Tori and Dominique, discovered Noah had a fractured tibia while he was in the NICU in September.

Local CBS affiliate station WTVR reported that the parents received a letter from the Henrico Department of Social Services. According to the letter, CPS said its investigation revealed “Level 1 physical abuse of Noah by a NICU employee at Henrico Doctor’s Hospital.” The identity of the employee was not released at the time of the letter.

“We are impatiently waiting to know that they have managed to find the person responsible for this affair,” Dominique, the child’s father, told the media at the time.