A full-scale investigation has begun after it was discovered that seven babies at a Virginia hospital all had fractured bones. The investigation began after the hospital paused NICU admissions in the fall due to three babies being found with fractures. This sparked one family to bring attention to their son, who was injured in 2023.
From there, investigators learned there were other babies with fractures in 2023, prompting them to add those infants to the case. Currently, there are no leads on a suspect, but it’s believed to be a hospital employee.
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The NICU paused admissions in December.
In December, CBS 6 Richmond reported that Henrico Doctorsâ Hospital in Henrico County, Virginia, was not admitting new babies to its NICU. Three babies with inexplicable fractures had been discovered between November and December, prompting an investigation.
In a statement on its website, the hospital announced an “update to NICU safety measures,” adding that it was pausing admissions “out of an abundance of caution.” A spokesperson from the Virginia Department of Health told CBS 6 that the hospital voluntarily paused admissions “upon the recommendation of VDH.”
The hospital is taking the investigation seriously and has instituted new safety measures.
“While fractures occasionally happen with pre-term babies since they lack full fetal bone development, we are actively working to determine how these fractures occurred,” the statement reads.
The hospital noted it has reached out to families, implemented new safety measures, and informed the necessary authorities, including police and Child Protective Services.
“The safety of our NICU babies is our highest priority and we are actively working to pursue additional precautions to prevent any future incidents,” it shared.
One family is speaking out.
After hearing that Henrico Doctorsâ Hospital was pausing NICU admissions, Tori and Dominique Hackey reached out to CBS 6, saying that their twin son Noah had suffered a mysterious fracture during his time at the hospital in 2023. The Hackeys told the news outlet that on September 5, 2023, a NICU nurse informed them Noah’s tibia was fractured and he would receive a splint for his leg to allow it to heal.
His dad, Dominique Hackey, immediately informed Child Protective Services of the injury. At the time, the hospital suggested to the family the broken leg was likely accidental. But in January 2024, the Hackeys were contacted by the Henrico Police Department and a prosecutor to be part of their investigation. In September 2024, they received a letter from the Department of Social Services.
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The Hackeys were informed that Noah's injuries were thought to be child abuse.
The letter the Hackeys received said that “following a through CPS investigation this agency has determined the disposition of this report to be founded level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee in the Henrico Doctorâs Hospital NICU.” Level 1 is the most serious level of child abuse in Virginia.
“It was intentional, it was child abuse, it was the most severe level that it can be. That definitely opened our eyes to it because nobody had said that before. Nobody said this was child abuse, this was intentional,” Dominique Hackey told CBS 6. He also shared that police told him in October that other babies had experienced similar injuries around the same time.
After being assured in 2023 that the hospital was doing everything they could to prevent more harm, the Hackeys “couldnât believe” more injuries happened this year. “Itâs not supposed to happen again, itâs not supposed to happen in the first place,” Dominique Hackey said.
The 2023 babies are being included in the investigation.
“We are doing whatever we can to protect them,” Henrico Commonwealthâs Attorney Shannon Taylor, said in a statement shared by multiple outlets, including WWBT. “While it has been reported that CPS did conclude that matter sometime this past year, it is my position, and together with the other agencies, Henrico Police, that that is also going to be part of the current investigation. The public should know that those four babies from 2023 are also still part of the current investigation.”
Taylor told CBS 6 that her office is working to see if there was “criminal conduct” at play.
