Family of nurse Erin Strotman reacts to 26-year-old’s arrest ‘for breaking bones of seven babies in Virginia NICU’

The family of a nurse accused of injuring seven newborn babies in her care has responded to her shock arrest.

Erin Elizabeth Strotman, 26, has been charged with malicious wounding and child abuse following the incidents at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, police said Friday.

DailyMail.com reached Strotman’s sister Rachel and mother Kimberly on Friday shortly after news of the nurse’s arrest emerged.

Rachel Strotman simply answered “no” when asked for comment about her sister’s arrest. Meanwhile, the nurse’s mother, Kimberly, said she had no comment. Both women sounded calm on the phone.

Kimberly Strotman already received negative reactions on her Facebook account, which, like Rachel’s, has now been deactivated.

The accused nurse appears to have deleted her Facebook and LinkedIn accounts before her arrest.

Social media images of Strotman, a Virginia native, show that she graduated with a nursing degree in 2019.

Her arrest comes after a couple spoke out after Virginia Child Services informed them that their newborn baby had been abused by a NICU worker when he suffered a broken leg following his premature birth.

Authorities opened an investigation into the unexplained fractures after four babies were injured in the summer of 2023 and another three were injured in November and December this year.

The case is similar to that of British serial killer sister Lucy Letby, although no deaths have been reported.

“We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally affected by this investigation,” HCA Virginia told us. People in a statement.

“We are grateful to the 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 worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation.”

Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which cares for critically ill newborns, has 40 treatment rooms and the hospital delivers approximately 4,500 babies annually.

Although hospital officials acknowledge that “fractures occur occasionally,” these fractures appeared to be a cause for concern.

Investigators reviewed video from the NICU to determine whether there was staff misconduct or unreported accidents.

A statement on the hospital’s website last month said: ‘Out of an abundance of caution, we are not admitting additional babies to our NICU at this time.

Dominique and Tori Hackey were among the parents affected after they welcomed their twin boys, Noah and Micah, to the hospital in August 2023.

Noah was doing well until Dominique noticed that his left leg was not moving.

“It was a little discolored, I told the doctor on duty, I did some x-rays and we found that he has a broken leg, so we’re going to splint it for the next two weeks, and then she was like, Do you want to hold him?” ‘ Dominique told WTVR.

The couple said they did not want to hold Noah for fear the hospital would blame them for the injury.

“In my head I was thinking, I don’t want them to turn it around on us and say we broke his leg or something like that, so I thought, no, we don’t want to hold him, we’re just going to deal with this,” added Dominique added.

An X-ray showed that Noah’s tibia was broken, and according to Dominique, the hospital suggested the injury was accidental.

“That’s what they told us, that it could be done because an injection was given and maybe they did it too hard and it caused the fracture,” Dominique said.

Dominique said it worried him, so he contacted child protective services. In September, he received a review of their investigation, which found Noah had Level 1 physical abuse – the worst level in Virginia.

The letter from Child Protective Services stated that “after an in-depth CPS investigation, this agency has determined that this report is Level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee of the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU.”

In October, police informed the Hackeys that other babies had also been mysteriously injured at the hospital in Richmond. However, authorities have been unable to determine who caused the injuries.

The hospital told the Hickeys that they had implemented preventive measures, such as cameras in the NICU and more training.

But then the hospital closed its NICU unit in October after measures failed to prevent three more babies from being injured in November and December.

Maria Reppas, communications director for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), told DailyMail.com that the agency is working with the hospital on the investigation.

She said, “The health and safety of those receiving care in this NICU have been and will continue to be our top priority.

“VDH’s Office of Licensure and Certification, in coordination with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), took immediate action to identify potential problems and is monitoring specific corrective actions.

“We are working closely with other state and local partners, including the Henrico Police Department and the Virginia State Police.”