A nurse has been fired after the father of a newborn baby caught her on video slamming the 2-day-old infant into a bassinet in the NICU at Good Samaritan University Hospital in Long Island, New York.
Fidel Sinclair and Consuelo Saravia had their worst nightmares come true as parents when Sinclair witnessed the unthinkable with their son Nikko.
The infant was kept in NICU for observation because doctors gave him some antibiotics. Sinclair heard his son crying, so he went to go check on his child and decided to take a video of his newborn through the glass window. Then, he witnessed the nurse pick his son up roughly, turn his son over, and slam him into the bassinet face first.
“I don’t know, but it just broke me. I didn’t know what to do,” said Sinclair. “I really wanted to break through that glass. I am glad I went back to the room and showed her (Consuelo) before I reacted.”
Saravia told NBC New York 4 News she immediately confronted the nurse.
“I told her ‘I don’t want you to touch my child. You just slammed him,’” Saravia recalled the conversation. “She said ‘Oh no, if you think I mishandled him or anything, I’m sorry.'”
She also showed the video to other nurses and administrators.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Saravia. “I couldn’t stop crying, I couldn’t even sleep.”
Sinclair also mentioned that he was fortunate enough to catch the act on camera and that the curtain was lifted high enough to do so because there are no security cameras in that room.
“There were a lot of babies in there, and it made me feel like if that happened to Nikko who else did that happen to,” Sinclair said. “I find it messed up that in a room like that they have all the curtains closed. If it wasn’t for God who sent me to check on him we would have never seen any of that happen. … And It would have kept happening overnight not only to him but the other babies, too.”
Catholic Health, which runs Good Samaritan, responded to the questions about the curtains last week when the video first went viral.
“It is standard procedure to have closed curtains in the neonatal ICU to provide privacy for the patients and their families and because services are being administered at the bedside. Immediate family members are permitted inside the neonatal ICU to spend time with their loved ones,” said a representative of Catholic Health.
They also released a statement that the nurse has been fired as of last Friday.
“Upon learning of this incident, swift and immediate action was taken, including conducting an investigation and consequently terminating the individual involved. Additionally, we reported the individual to the Department of Health for further review. Keeping our patients safe remains our paramount concern.”
Some have suggested on social media that the nurse being fired is not enough and that she should be behind bars.
“The nurse needs to be in jail bc there’s NO way that hasn’t happened to other babies that nurse was responsible for. Probably the only time it was caught on camera,” said Geordi LaForge.
Nikko is now doing well, and the mother and baby have been discharged from the hospital. Suffolk Special Victims Unit and the New York Department of Health are investigating the case as well.
The department of health released the following statement:
“The disturbing allegation is being taken seriously. As this is an open investigation, the Department cannot comment further. All hospital complaints are kept confidential and at the conclusion of an investigation the outcome is shared with the complainant.”
The nurse has not been charged criminally, and the parents have not filed a lawsuit against Catholic Health.
