Community leaders, people on social media, and local activists expressed concern and outrage since the January 2 arrest of a former nurse at the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital near Richmond, Virginia, after investigators uncovered a shocking pattern of unexplained bone fractures of babies in the facility’s NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) between late November and December 2024.
A statement from the media relations office of HCA Healthcare Capital Division, which oversees Henrico Doctor’s Hospital, said in part:
“We discovered that three babies in our Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU had unexplained fractures, similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023.
We initiated a thorough internal investigation, informed the families and notified the proper authorities and regulatory agencies and worked collaboratively with them on their investigations,” the release said, in part.

“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,” said Wes Hester, HCA Healthcare Capital Division’s director of media relations in an e-mail to The Final Call.
“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,” he said in an official statement.
“It makes me sick; it truly makes me sick,” said Dominique Hackey, during a Jan. 3 interview with WRIC ABC 8News. He is the father of one of the infants suffering injuries in the NICU facility. Mr. Hackney demanded justice.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable and it looks like that day is here. I feel very blessed with what our situation was in that it was just a broken leg because it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
The news report said two other families chose to remain anonymous. One family had an infant that died and another suffered as many as 12 bone fractures but survived.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, failed to report the suspected abuse of four of the babies, WRIC ABC 8News reported. Though the hospital stopped accepting admissions on Dec. 26, 2024, the “NICU has been under investigation by multiple agencies,” reported wric.com.
“8News has since learned that the VDH conducted an inspection of HDH in 2023 and found that the hospital did not report suspicions of abuse of those four babies in a timely manner. This is required by the VDH to occur within 24 hours of having reason to suspect abuse.
Additionally, the VDH reported that NICU staff were not recording who took babies to have labs done, which is another violation of policy,” the network reported.
Before the former nurse’s arrest, the hospital announced that they were taking immediate steps to enhance safety measures in the NICU, including:
· Requiring all NICU caregivers to participate in supplemental unit-wide, in-person safety training programs.
· Adopting the practice of conducting additional head-to-toe examinations of each NICU baby, led by neonatologists.
· Instituting mandatory training for all healthcare providers who interact with minors, educating the providers on the identification and reporting of suspected neglect or abuse.
· Installing two new security systems to ensure proper care and parents’ peace of mind.
· A camera system that records all activity in our NICU rooms 24/7 and is available for viewing in real time or at a later date.
· Live-streaming technology allowing parents to view their babies.
Outrage, investigations and accountability
Richmond-based community leader, Charles Willis, executive director of United Communities Against Crime, told The Final Call that his organization was deeply concerned with the news of babies being harmed inside the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital.
He said it was deeply disturbing that a nurse would allegedly harm a child much less an infant in a NICU where premature and vulnerable newborns are cared for.
“After being notified through media sources in the Richmond area, we began to monitor the hospital’s protocols and directions on it,” Mr. Willis said. “We are hoping the detectives do their due diligence,” he said. “Our prayer is that God will have mercy on the children and that they will heal and be made whole again.”
Mr. Willis added that he cannot stress enough the importance of transparency and community feedback as the investigations continue into a crime as volatile as the intentional harming of an infant. “That is where the trust begins,” he said.
“If not, and there’s no trust, there’s no communication, and we’re all out of touch. There must be truth in transparency. People can come out and be very vocal about a lie,” he continued. Mr. Willis insisted that coverups cannot be tolerated on an issue as serious as this.
“Whether that child be Black, White, Hispanic, or Native American, it’s still a child that cannot defend themselves and for someone to take advantage to the point that you would break the bones of a baby, it’s detrimental to society,” Mr. Willis stated plainly.
According to a news release by Henrico Police Chief Eric D. English, “detectives identified Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 26, of Chesterfield County, as a suspect in this case.”
“Ms. Strotman faces charges of malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an incident that occurred in November 2024,” Chief English’s statement said in part.
The news release also said the Henrico County Police Division is using every available resource to ensure a thorough investigation, which involves reviewing dozens of videos and re-examining cases dating back to 2023.
“Due to the sensitive nature of these cases, specific information including race/gender/types of injuries, etc. is not able to be released; detectives do not want to compromise the investigation moving forward,” the statement read further. The Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is investigating the case, he added.
Shannon L. Taylor, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henrico County, in an e-mailed response to questions by The Final Call, said that on January 2, 2025, the defendant was charged with one count of felony child neglect and one count of felony malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant on or about November 10, 2024.
She said the defendant was arraigned on both charges January 3 and that the former nurse was denied bond by the court. The maximum statutory penalties for the two offenses are 10 and 20 years of incarceration, respectively.
“While there has been an arrest for one person for allegedly inflicting injury on a single victim, I would emphasize this is an ongoing investigation spanning potential offenses committed in both 2023 and 2024,” Ms. Taylor said.
Student Minister Tracy Muhammad, of Richmond’s Nation of Islam Mosque No. 24, under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, told The Final Call that he first became aware of the injured NICU infants through social media. He called the situation and allegations “alarming.”
“Whether or not the hospital has done right in terms of protocol, it still necessitates us as a community moving forward with the vision that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us,” Student Minister Muhammad said.
Student Minister Muhammad said that the entire incident is a sign that the people must take the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad more seriously and secure degrees in healthcare and pool the necessary resources to build clinics, healthcare centers, and hospitals as long called for by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.