Long Island ICU nurse is charged with child endangerment after she slammed a newborn baby
A nurse in Long Island was arrested and charged last week after she was caught on video picking up a two-day-old baby and slamming him face down against his crib.
The nurse, Amanda Burke, 29, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
The incident for which she was charged took place on February 6 at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, Long Island.
Prosecutors from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said, “Burke approached the newborn while he was in a crib, lifted him up, quickly turned him over and violently slammed him face down into the crib.”
Baby Nikko was just two days old when a nurse was caught on camera slamming him face down against his crib in the NICU where he was being given a course of antibiotics
At the time, Burke was a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, responsible for the care of baby Nikko.
The baby’s father, Fidel Sinclair, recorded the incident on his cell phone through the window of the NICU, where Nikko had been given a course of antibiotics.
The baby’s mother, Consuela Saravia, then confronted the nurse about the footage.
Burke was fired “within hours of the incident,” according to a release.
District Attorney Raymond Tierney said: “The allegations against this defendant, someone entrusted with the care of our most vulnerable citizens, are truly disturbing.”
Robert Gottlieb, a lawyer for Burke, said: “This case should never have led to criminal charges.”
Amanda is an outstanding, exemplary, compassionate nurse who did and would never do anything to endanger any baby or patient in her care.
“The baby involved was not injured and was never in any danger. The statements of the public prosecutor are not correct and are not justified by all the facts that will emerge in court.
Burke will be arraigned on May 2. Her nursing license is not suspended.
In February, Saravia said the video left her extremely distraught. “It was heartbreaking. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t even sleep,” she said.
The new mother confronted the nurse who had abused her child: “I told her, ‘I don’t want you to touch my child!’ You just hit him.’
“She said, ‘Oh no, if you think I mistreated him or something, I’m sorry.'”
The baby was ultimately unharmed.
New parents Fidel Sinclair and Consuela Saravia were shocked to see the nurse roughly treating their newborn in the NICU
He later returned home with his parents, but the couple was left upset and tense after the incident
Nikko’s mother, Consuela Saravia, said she was so upset by the incident that she couldn’t sleep and cried instead
The Good Samaritan Hospital on Montauk Highway in West Islip, Long Island, is where the incident took place. The hospital is part of the Catholic health system and is one of six hospitals
Fortunately, baby Nikko was unharmed and later went home with his parents
In February, a Good Samaritan Hospital spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the nurse was a “recent hire” and she quit immediately after the incident.
“When we learned of this incident, prompt and immediate action was taken, including conducting an investigation and then terminating the person involved,” the hospital official said.
“In addition, we have reported the person to the Ministry of Health for further investigation. The safety of our patients remains our main concern.’
Nikko’s father, who observed the incident, said there were many other babies in the NICU at the time of his observation.
“There were a lot of babies there and it made me feel like if that happened to Nikko, who else would that happen to,” Sinclair said.
“I hate that all the curtains are drawn in a room like that.”
The parents said the room had no security cameras and Sinclair felt lucky to be able to see the nurse in action and watch his son go through the curtain and record the misbehavior.
The spokesperson told DailyMail.com that having the curtains drawn in ICU is “standard operating procedure.”
“It is standard procedure to have curtains in the neonatal ICU to provide privacy for the patients and their families and because services are administered at the bedside,” they said.