‘It makes me sick’: Families of babies hurt at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU speak out after former nurse arrested
Jan 03, 2025
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Families of three out of seven children involved in the ongoing investigation into Henrico Doctor's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) appeared in court for the hearing of a former nurse arrested and charged in connection to the case.
That former nurse, 26-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County, was arraigned at the Henrico County Juvenile/Domestic Relations Court on Friday, Jan. 6. She faces one count of felony child neglect and one count of malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant on or about Nov. 10, 2024.
This comes after seven babies at the hospital's NICU were found with "unexplained fractures" in the summer of 2023 and in Nov. and Dec. 2024.
8News spoke with families in the courthouse prior to the hearing.
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Of the three families present, two were of children who were injured in 2023 and one was injured in 2024.
Two out of the three families wished to remain anonymous, but shared with 8News details concerning the injuries their children sustained.
One mother said that, of her twins who received care in the NICU, one had passed away. When 8News asked her if she believed her child's passing was due in part to their stay in the NICU, she said, "I don't know."
Another woman shared with 8News that her child had suffered 12 fractures while receiving care in the hospital's NICU.
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"It makes me sick, it truly makes me sick," said Dominique Hackey, of Chesterfield County, whose son's tibia was fractured while at Henrico Doctors' Hospital. "This person's mentally ill and -- to do that to all those families ... there's no happiness that I can feel at this point."
Hackey thought there would be different emotions after hearing his son's case of child abuse in 2023 had reopened and that a legal battle had begun for one of the seven children involved -- but this was not the case.
Hackey grew emotional when meeting other families in court Friday. Once he met the parents who shared that their son suffered 12 fractures, he was brought to tears.
"I couldn't help but ... just to break down for that father and that mother, because I felt how I felt when I learned that my son had a fracture -- and that was helpless," he said. "And to know that to that degree that there was nothing that father could do to protect his son ... it's horrifying."
MORE: Virginia Child Protective Services found child was abused in Henrico Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 2023
When asked if Hackey had words for the Henrico Doctor's Hospital, he said he feels as though the center failed him, along with many others.
“You failed -- you didn’t [just] fail me, but you failed so many other families as well as me, and that’s a problem, that’s a huge problem," Hackey said. "And they need to do better because it can’t happen again."
Shannon Taylor, Henrico County's Commonwealth's Attorney, confirmed that Strotman was employed at the hospital both in 2023 and in 2024. She said it's her office's current understanding she is no longer employed there.
8News has reached out to the proper agencies to find out when exactly Strotman was terminated and what her status was at the time of the investigation in 2023.
This is a developing story, stick with 8News for updates.