A former hospital worker was arrested in connection with a late 2024 incident that left three babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Virginia with “unexplained fractures,” according to officials.
Henrico police identified Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, of Chesterfield County, as a suspect during an investigation into the incident, according to a news release issued Friday.
Strotman was arrested and faces charges of malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection with the incident, which the hospital said occurred in late November, possibly December.
An HCA Virginia spokesperson confirmed that Strotman is a former employee of Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. The spokesperson did not clarify what Strotman’s role was.
“In late November/December, we discovered that three babies in our NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital had unexplained fractures, similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023,” the hospital said in a statement posted on its site. website on December 24. “We initiated a thorough internal investigation, informed the families and notified the appropriate authorities and regulatory agencies and worked collaboratively with them in their investigations.”
The hospital said they will not accept any more babies into their NICU out of an abundance of caution and have also taken steps to make the unit safer, including installing live streaming technology and requiring all caregivers to participate in safety training programs.
HCA Virginia said in a statement that they are “shocked and saddened” by Strotman’s arrest and are focused on providing care to their patients and supporting employees.
“For more than 30 years, the NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU has provided necessary and life-saving care to babies in Central Virginia and we remain focused on ensuring the availability of that care in our community,” said Laura Petrosky, director of HCA Virginia. associate vice president of strategic communications.
Police also said they are “re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation.”
“We appreciate the patience of the families and the public as we work as thoroughly and quickly as possible to investigate every piece of evidence in connection with these cases,” Henrico Chief Eric D. English said in a statement.
