Nurse Drops Newborn Baby And Fractures His Skull

A veteran nurse at Uniontown Hospital, Pa. dropped a newborn baby, fracturing his skull, because she was allegedly drowsy. The baby's mother, Jacqueline Hunt, told reporters that a doctor said the nurse was feeding and burping her baby boy, Eli, when she accidentally dropped him at about 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

"The pediatrician came in and told us that (the nurse) was feeding him and burping him, and she was drowsy and fell asleep and dropped him," Hunt said, according to WPXI. "If she was tired, she should have known professionally not to pick up this child."

Hospital staff immediately ran tests baby Eli to check for injuries. Afterward, he was airlifted to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for further tests. There, they found a fracture in his skull. Doctors also discovered the right side of his skull was bleeding, NY Daily News reported.

"We are aware that testing revealed a minimally displaced skull fracture, but we also know that all indications given to us point to a full recovery," Uniontown Hospital spokesman Josh Krysak said, according to the Associated Press.

Krysak also said the hospital fully supports the nurse who dropped the newborn baby. She is still employed in Uniontown Hospital.

"We recognize her dedication to her job," he said. "There is absolutely no indication that there was any malice or intent involved."

Authorities are now investigating the matter. Uniontown Hospital is also looking into the details of what happened. Krysak said the hospital is yet to confirm if Hunt's account of the nurse falling asleep is true.

"At this point, we can't say whether that's accurate or not. We have multiple reports that conflict a little bit about that," he said. The hospital will investigate how many hours the nurse was on duty, and if she was indeed tired, then the hospital will make changes to make sure it does not happen again, Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday, the baby's neck brace was already removed. He is also able to eat, according to a Twitter update from WPXI.

In a more recent Twitter update, WPXI said the baby is being removed from ICU.