Jarring allegations in latest VDH reports into Henrico NICU reveal similarities to former NICU nurse

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Two corrective action plans from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) into the Henrico Doctors' Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) detail a plethora of discrepancies and misconduct, some of which being similar to information obtained and confirmed by 8News.

VDH finds Henrico Doctors’ NICU failed to prevent abuse of premature babies

The VDH's Office of Licensure and Certification released the reports; one being a federally-requested survey completed by the Department on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the other is a state licensure survey.

The NICU faces an ongoing investigation after several babies were found with "unexplainable fractures" between 2023 and 2024. The VDH announced it's temporary halt in acceptance of new admissions into the NICU because of this in late December 2024.

Along with allegations into actions committed inside the NICU, a list of corrective actions has been included for the hospital to take, some of which have already been undertaken.

Employees in both corrective action plans issued by the VDH to the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital neonatal intensive care unit were disguised by letters and numbers.

One employee, labeled as EMP11 shares similarities in the information 8News has reported on in regard to former nurse Erin Strotman of Chesterfield County.

ALL COVERAGE: Babies injured, abused at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s NICU

The state corrective action plan states two employees, including EMP11, were put on administrative leave and returned in September 2024.

8News obtained a report conducted by Virginia Child Protective Services that revealed Strotman was placed on administrative leave in 2023.

The reports also show that the agency learned EMP11 was fired from Henrico Doctors’ Hospital and arrested for child abuse based on law enforcement investigations into the hospital’s NICU on Jan. 3 of this year.

Henrico Police informed 8News that Strotman was arrested on Jan. 3 and charged with felony malicious wounding and felony child abuse for incidents occurring in November 2024.

8News was able to obtain court documents detailing video footage from Nov. 10, 2024. The footage from patient Y.H.’s room showed Strotman placing her weight on the infant’s legs and forcefully pushing them backwards until Y.H.’s feet were at his head.

The plans reveal that EMP11 was caring for a patient on Nov. 10, 2024, and “forcefully pushed the infant’s legs towards the abdomen with the feet almost touching the infant’s face.”

8news reached out to both the Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney and HCA Healthcare to confirm if EMP11 is in fact Erin Strotman.

The Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney said they could not comment on the matter and HCA Healthcare sent a statement on the action plans as a whole, but did not respond to our inquiry in regard to Strotman.

That statement can be found here:

The CMS report identified some areas that did not meet the standard of care that we expect and that our patients deserve. We worked diligently to address the findings and CMS has accepted our action plan. We have been closely collaborating with regulators to further improve our NICU by increasing our training, implementing new security measures and changing our reporting protocols. We appreciate the regulators’ commitment to safety and the dedication of our colleagues who have helped our hospital care for our community for more than 50 years. Wes Hester, Director of Media Relations at HCA Virginia