Update February 27:
And she’s out. A judge has granted bail to Erin Elizabeth Strotman with the following conditions:
- Must wear a GPS monitor
- Must stay at her parents’ house
- May not provide services as a healthcare professional
- May not be in the presence of minors or vulnerable adults
- May not use illegal drugs or drugs for which she doesn’t have a prescription
- May not have contact with the individual she’s named on social media as her boyfriend
- May not have firearms in her residence
The dollar amount of her bail was 25,000.00. One father said the following:
“I think we share the same feeling of anger,” Dominique Hackey, whose son was injured in the NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, said. “This is something that we were prepared for but obviously we didn’t expect. We definitely don’t feel like Richmond is safer with her out on the streets… now she’s out on the street celebrating with her family when she’s she’s done something so despicable. I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it.”
Of course, Strotman has not been found guilty of any crimes. With luck, she will plead guilty and avoid a trial but this case is so bizarre that nobody can predict what happens next. Stay tuned.
In Virginia, a 26 year old nurse, Erin Elizabeth Strotman, is accused of breaking the bones of seven babies in the neonatal unit at Henrico Doctors Hospital. Some lucky victims had only one bone broken and one father was having difficulty imagining 12 fractures on his infant.
As horrific as this is, it serves no purpose for me to try to determine what inspired Strotman’s bone breaking rampage if she did this. I am not that good. A team of psychiatrists from Vienna would struggle. But, she is in jail with bond denied and babies are safe for now. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Health suggested that the NICU be closed until it was certain that it was safe and it remains closed.
What I do understand is hospital survey reports from the state which are public information. The hospital is part of HCA Healthcare System which HAS 190 hospitals across the nation. When a problem is brought to the attention of the state, a survey is conducted and the results are passed on to the federal agencies in charge of healthcare facilities.
The seven babies are divided into two groups. Four babies were harmed in the summer of 2023 spurring an internal investigation revealing Strotman cared for all the babies but there was not conclusive proof that she committed these egregious crimes. She was put on administrative leave with pay and returned to work in 2024. Shortly after her return, three more infants were found with unexplained fractures.
There are many social media reports and opinions and sometimes even conflicting information so I turned to the survey that occurred in September of 2023 after the first four babies were harmed. You can view the survey online or by clicking the link. Because surveys are public information, the names of the clinical staff and patients are not revealed but are referred to by number. The surveyors first mentioned failure to report incidents of abuse within 24 hours. This is not only a hospital standard but the law in Virginia and it applies to all physicians, nursing staff, and anyone having direct contact with patients. The surveyors wrote:
This CONDITION is not met as evidenced by:
Based on interview and document review it was determined that the facility failed to protect and promote each patient’s rights as evidenced by: failing to report suspicion of abuse for four (4) premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within twenty-four (24) hours of having reason to suspect a reportable offense of child abuse (A145); and failing to ensure that the facility is able to identify all staff members who come into contact with each patient in the NICU.
The hospital’s response indicated that they notified lots of executives to examine the problem. See if you interpret it differently:
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital (HDH) holds the safety of all patients, staff, and visitors as its highest priority. Upon identification of the fractures of the four (4) premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the executive leadership team notified Division leadership and convened an intensive analysis of practices to identify potential contributing factors. The analysis included a review of medical records, policies, procedures, and practices currently in place as well as interviews of individuals involved in the care of the infants. We took immediate steps to protect all infants in the NICU. We also notified the families, proper authorities, and regulatory organizations. We implemented the following safety measures:
- Two new security systems, including cameras in each NICU room that allow parents to view their babies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Additional daily examinations of each NICU baby led by neonatologists
- New unit-wide in-person safety training
The cameras were installed on January 17, 2024; four months after the survey. The neonatologist examinations of each baby is always a good idea but do they check for fractures as a general rule? And why on earth was safety training needed for the unit staff? Was this not a requirement upon hire and hopefully annually?
Regardless, the measures worked. The hospital CEO signed the report stating that since implementation of those measures, no further fractures had been noticed. There was no mention of placing anyone on administrative leave.
These are the team members who implemented the Plan of Care. Who’s missing?
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
- Chief Operating Officer (COO),
- Chief Medical Officer (CMO),
- Chief Nursing Officer (CNO),
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO),
- Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety (VPQ),
- Administrative Director of Women’s and Children’s Services,
- Director of NICU,
- Director of Laboratory,
- Director of Security, Information technology,
- front line staff and
- Division Vice President of Quality.
How about somebody from Human Resources to review the hiring process and background checks? What about drug screens across the board because what clean and sober person would break babies?
A multidisciplinary team reviewed policies and made changes to ensure they corresponded to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s laws regarding abuse. Really? After four babies sustained unexplained fractures, Henrico Doctors Hospital reviewed their policies and learned that their policy on abuse and neglect did not meet Virginia standards. And it took a multidisciplinary team to read a very simple law and ensure that the policy corresponded to it.
In April, seven months after the survey, the training regarding mandatory reporting laws was complete. How could the senior leadership be so completely irresponsible? I have questions. The main one is why? And I guarantee that many nurses knew the mandatory reporting laws and did not report it probably because of spoken or unspoken intimidation from Senior leadership.
Employee No. 2 mentioned in the survey response reported that the hospital ‘retained multiple specialists and outside consults including a radiologist, a geneticist, and a Neonatologist, and they retained a pediatric radiologist and a pediatric orthopedist’. A radiologist reviewing patient No. 1 wrote ‘Concern for nonaccidental trauma is raised’. The orthopedic consult note read: “We have discussed with the NICU team that nonaccidental trauma needs to be considered’. Two more weeks went by before the state arrived for an unannounced survey having been notified of the fractures on September 20.
Suspicion of abuse or neglect is the standard for reporting. Such abuse or neglect does not need to be proved before reporting. There are investigators skilled at determining abuse. Would you rather be accused when you are innocent which would be embarrassing or have children who need care and protection from abuse go unreported because someone’s feelings might get hurt.
I said I was going to stick to the official report from the Virginia Department of Health and not delve into rumours and innuendo but I’m going to make one exception. The Henrico Sheriff’s department has confirmed that race was not a motive as reported on Social Media. Strotman, if guilty, is an equal opportunity baby bone breaker. They have also asked that people not speculate. So far, Strotman has been charged in one incident of abuse. I suspect there will be more.
The next trial date for Strotman is February 11, 2025. This will be her third attempt to have bail set. During her last bail hearing, her lawyer stated that he did not have time to review a report written by a psychiatrist. Her lawyer argues that she is not a threat to herself or others and should be released on bail pending trial. Her parents live in a gated subdivision so she should be safe. Concern for the safety of Strotman was not keeping me awake at night.
The rest of the survey addresses the identity of persons who obtained blood samples from infants in the NICU as the staff was unable to identify everyone who rendered any care to the infants. There’s something here that isn’t written. Did a nurse blame a lab tech? Drawing blood from a premature infant is difficult. I can’t imagine not charting the lab draw so what gives?
Unless Strotman or someone else confesses, I expect this isn’t the end of the story. Stay tuned for information as it becomes available. Comments are appreciated. You can leave them on the post or email them here.
Disclosure: If I’m not making money through affiliate links on the post you’re currently reading, it’s an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon.
