HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A retired detective whose work is featured in the book and Netflix adaptation "The Good Nurse" said he has concerns about how Henrico Doctors' Hospital handled the cases of multiple babies found with broken bones in its NICU.
Tim Braun has an extensive history working on hospital cases as a police detective in New Jersey. He reached out to CBS 6 to lend his expertise after he was sent our investigation into why doctors, nurses, and administrators at HDH did not call Child Protective Services (CPS) within 24 hours to report suspected child abuse or neglect, as required by state law, after multiple babies were found with broken bones in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in late summer of 2023.
“It's alarming that the outside authorities and agencies, regulatory agencies, weren't notified earlier to help with the internal investigation,” Bruan said.
Strotman, a former NICU nurse at HDH, is facing felony charges, accused of hurting one baby in the summer of 2022 and three additional babies in the fall of 2024.
A CBS 6 investigation found that the hospital conducted an "internal investigation" in 2023 and placed her on paid administrative leave on September 12 of that year after four different premature babies were found with fractures.
State Board of Nursing records show the hospital determined Strotman was the only nurse who had access to all four of the babies with fractures.
CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked Braun, “Why, in your mind, is it not okay just to rely on that internal hospital investigation? Why is that not enough?”
“In my opinion, it's a bit of a conflict of interest," Braun replied. "Because you're searching for information that could damage your institution, the public perception, and financially."
Strotman was kept on leave until September 2024, when the hospital allowed her to return to work, according to prosecutors and Board of Nursing records.
No babies were found with fractures while Strotman was on leave.
“My main question is, why did you put her on leave in the first place?” Braun said. “Did you put her on leave because you suspected her of wrongdoing? If so, what led you to believe that?”
Our investigation found the hospital did not contact CPS until September 21, 2023, which was ten days after a radiologist told the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer that he thought a pattern of abuse was going on, and nine days after Strotman was placed on leave.
CPS later founded abuse, but was not able to identify a perpetrator. No criminal charges were filed at that time.
Prosecutors have since said the hospital’s delay in notifying CPS in 2023 “unfortunately delayed” their investigation, and they encountered “problems” because of it.
“How does that hurt police and investigators if there is a delay like that in reporting?” Hipolit asked Braun.
“The longer time passes, potential evidence could be lost, and the likelihood of the continued incidents occurring is right there too,” Braun replied.
Braun wonders if the hospital provided law enforcement with every piece of information they had that led them to put Strotman on leave.
“The bulk and majority of the evidence that you need to build a case similar to this is going to be a paper trail of different documentation that is cross-referenced to build your case, and that's all within the facility itself,” Braun said.
“So it sounds like in this case you're wondering, did the hospital hand over everything from their internal investigation to police in 2023?” Hipolit asked Braun.
“Yes, that's a definite question,” Braun responded.
Braun said on top of CPS being notified, he hopes the hospital contacted the Board of Nursing to investigate Strotman back in 2023, since she was identified as someone who needed to be placed on leave for nearly a year.
We’ve asked the Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP), which the Board of Nursing falls under, to see if that happened.
A spokesperson said they cannot confirm or deny the existence of an active investigation regarding a licensed health practitioner.
The Board suspended Strotman’s nursing license last week.
Local News
Nurse who used 'excessive force' on premature babies has license suspended
In that suspension order, there is no mention of interviewing Strotman or anyone else related to the fractures back in 2023.
“When this happens, it’s crucial that both the medical and law enforcement come together because of the nature of the beast, quite frankly. Law enforcement generally does not have the medical expertise to gather, collect, and understand the evidence you need to compile, to build a case because of the complex nature of the environment,” Braun said.
State law requires the CEO and Chief of Staff of every hospital in Virginia to report to the VDHP within 30 days any disciplinary proceeding begun by a facility as a result of conduct involving intentional or negligent conduct that causes or is likely to cause injury to patients, and any disciplinary action taken as a result.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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