HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico police have arrested a Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU nurse, charging the woman with felony counts of malicious wounding and child abuse.
This comes one week after the hospital announced it was temporarily stopping admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit after three babies were found to have unexplained fractures in late November and December.
Erin Strotman was taken into custody Thursday and booked at Henrico Jail West early Friday morning.
Court records show the crimes she is accused of both took place on Nov. 10, 2024.
The circumstances of the recent fractures are similar to incidents involving four different babies at the hospital in the summer of 2023, according to a statement from HCA, which runs Henrico Doctors’ Hospital.
Among those babies was Noah Hackey, whose tibia was fractured while in the NICU at the hospital in September of 2023.
We shared the Hackey family’s story last week, including a letter from a Child Protective Services Supervisor, that says CPS "founded level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee by the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU.”
WATCH: Investigation found Henrico Doctors’ Hospital employee abused NICU baby in 2023
“They failed strictly on multiple levels with multiple different families, and they need to be held accountable as well because that shouldn’t have happened. If they were suspicious of some person enough to let them go they shouldn’t have brought them back. They failed simple as that,” Dominique Hackey said.
However, CPS was not able to identify that employee.
“I want to give you the opportunity to respond a family member of a victim spoke to us earlier and described what happened in 2023 as a failure on the part of Henrico County as well as the hospital. Do you feel like the county failed future babies that were in the NICU at the hospital?” CBS6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor.
“When we look at what happened back in 2023, we can look at it from the standpoint of not just the individual culpability, but if there was a systems failure,” Taylor responded. “I think we would be remiss if we did not look at all aspects of how the system is working and how these families were impacted.”
“So potentially there could be criminal charges beyond the person that committed the acts?” Hipolit asked.
“Like any investigation we are going to make sure that we look at all facets of the investigation, and if there are individuals that need to be held accountable, and if we have the evidence to sustain that then we will pursue it,” Taylor replied.
Taylor confirmed her office re-opened Noah’s case and others earlier this week.
Strotman was placed on paid administrative leave in 2023 after the hospital conducted an internal investigation, according to Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) records obtained exclusively by CBS 6.
She was determined to be one of two staff persons “found to have had contact with all of the infants in the timeframe identified,” and unlike the other employee, Strotman was “new to the unit and had more direct care responsibilities with the NICU infants.”
However, CPS and police said they could not determine who the abuser was at the time.
CBS 6 asked HCA when Strotman's paid administrative leave ended, when she returned to work, and if she is still an employee of the hospital system.
Strotman is a "former" employee of the hospital, according to a statement provided to CBS 6 by HCA.
"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. We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Any media questions or inquiries about that investigation should be directed to law enforcement.
"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.
"For more than 30 years, the NICU at Henrico Doctors' Hospital 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."
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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