Three infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Virginia’s Henrico Doctors Hospital had “unexplainable fractures,” according to officials, following an incident in late 2024 that led to the arrest of a former hospital employee.
During an investigation into the event, Henrico Police named Chesterfield County resident Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, as a suspect, according to a press release issued Friday.
Strotman was taken into custody and charged with felony child abuse and malicious injury in relation to the event, which the hospital stated occurred in late November or early December.
According to a representative for HCA Virginia, Strotman used to work at Henrico Doctors Hospital. What Strotman’s involvement was was not made clear by the spokeswoman.
The hospital announced in a statement put on their website on December 24 that “in late November/December, we discovered that three babies in our Henrico Doctors Hospital NICU had unexplainable fractures, similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023.” “We initiated a thorough internal investigation, informed the families and notified the proper authorities and regulatory agencies and worked collaboratively with them on their investigations.”
In an effort to be extra cautious, the hospital announced that they are no longer taking any new babies to their NICU. They have also made measures to make the unit more secure, such as installing live-streaming technology and mandating that all caregivers take part in safety training courses.
According to a statement from HCA Virginia, they are “shocked and saddened” by Strotman’s arrest and are committed to helping staff members and patients.
Laura Petrosky, assistant vice president of strategic communications at HCA Virginia, stated, “The NICU at Henrico Doctors Hospital NICU has been providing essential and life-saving care to babies in central Virginia for more than 30 years, and we remain focused on ensuring that care is available in our community.”
Another statement from the police stated that they are “re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation.”
In a statement, Henrico Chief Eric D. English stated, “We appreciate the patience of the families and the public as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases.”
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