HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – A former employee of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Henrico Doctors' Hospital’s in Virginia has been charged with malicious wounding and child abuse after an investigation into babies being found with "unexplainable fractures" at the NICU.
Twenty-six-year-old Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, of Chesterfield County, has been charged with malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an incident that occurred in November of 2024, according to the Henrico County Police Division.
Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor added that Strotman was a nurse at the hospital, and HCA Healthcare confirmed that she is a former employee.
This comes after the hospital said three babies were discovered with "unexplainable fractures" in late November and December of 2024, adding that these incidents were similar to an incident involving four babies in 2023.
According to online court records, the offense date for both charges is Nov. 10, 2024.
Due to these incidents and the ongoing investigation into their circumstances, the healthcare system said the hospital's NICU would not be accepting additional admissions until further notice.
"Currently, the Henrico County Police Division is utilizing all available resources to ensure a thorough investigation into this matter. This involves reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU," police said.
“We appreciate the families’ and public’s patience as we work as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases,” Henrico Chief of Police Eric D. English said in a statement. “I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering efforts of our detectives who continue to comb through hundreds of hours of footage and extend my sincere gratitude to Henrico’s Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Office of the Attorney General for their assistance in this matter.”
Due to the "sensitive nature" of these cases, police said updates will be provided when available so as not to compromise the investigation.
The healthcare system also provided a statement in regards to Strotman's arrest.
"There has been an ongoing investigation into fractures sustained by patients in our NICU, and this morning, the Henrico County Police Department arrested a former employee of the hospital in connection with that investigation," the statement read, in part. "We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so."
The hospital said any inquiries about the case should be directed to the police.
"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 impacted by this investigation. We are grateful to those colleagues, who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to law enforcement and the other agencies who have worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation."
Anyone with questions or concerns related to the HCA Virginia Health System can contact the public relations department with the healthcare system.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Henrico Police Det. M. Lynch at police@henrico.gov.
