NBC 4 reports a registered nurse from Long Island’s Good Samaritan Hospital has been fired and charged criminally after being seen violently slamming a baby.
Raymond Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, announced that Amanda Burke, 29, has been charged with a single count of endangering the welfare of a child. The baby’s father, Fidel Sinclair, visited his son, Nikko,
who was placed in NICU at the West Slip, New York, hospital for observation in February. When he noticed the baby crying, he pulled out his phone to record and captured Burke turning him around and slamming him face-first back into the bassinet.When he showed the video to the child’s mother, Consuelo Saravia, she confronted the nurse. “I don’t know, it just broke me,” Sinclair said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
According to the New York Post, the parents immediately notified other nursing staff at Good Samaritan, and the district attorney’s office says she was fired within hours of the incident. “The allegations against this defendant, who is someone entrusted with the care of our most vulnerable citizens, are
truly disturbing,” Tierney said. However, Burke’s attorney, Robert C. Gottlieb, says they got it all wrong. “The infant in this case is healthy and was never injured,” Gottlieb said. “Amanda is an exceptional nurse who has always cared for infants under her care with love and compassion and the evidence will prove that without any doubt.”Burke turned herself in to
Suffolk County police and was given a desk appearance ticket for an arraignment on May 2. NBC reports Burke’s license to practice as a registered nurse has not been suspended.Catholic Health, which runs Good Samaritan, said that the Department of Health was also notified for further review at the time of the incident. “Keeping our patients safe remains our paramount concern.”