It is not the news any new mother wants to hear. Jacqueline Hunt went into labor earlier this week and was admitted at Uniontown Hospital in Pennsylvania, where she delivered her son via c-section on Monday. On Tuesday, an unnamed 30-year nurse vet was feeding and burping the baby when she claims the baby “slipped from her hands and fell,” relays John Krysak, the Community Relations Coordinator of the hospital.
Medical staff immediately responded to the dropped baby who was transferred to the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburg for further evaluation. The hospital said the newborn is expected to make a full recovery.
Krysak urges the incident was an “accident” and while an internal investigation will be launched, criminal intent will not be the focus. Sources said the nurse was caring for the newborn when she grew tired and her arms went lax, and that is when the newborn fell from her arms. Hospital officials declined to comment how long the nurse was working prior to the incident, and what consequences, if any will be passed to the nurse.
Per sources, once the medical staff responded to the area and checked the nurse, it appears her being drowsy was the issue, and no unknown medical conditions were noted or shared with the press. Uniontown Hospital released the following statement:
At Uniontown Hospital, we are committed to making a healthy difference in every life we touch and when such an unfortunate incident occurs, we take it very seriously and personally. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the child and the family. We are sorry that such a wonderful event has been overshadowed by an unfortunate situation. We are thankful that it appears that this incident did not result in significant injury and we will continue to work to ensure that we do all we can to prevent such incidents from occurring.
Uniontown police have launched their own investigation after the baby’s family contacted them. Hunt shared the first time she saw her son, Eli, he was in a neckbrace. The brace was removed on Wednesday morning, and per Hunt, time will heal the fracture.