The case involving a former nurse who was accused of mishandling an infant was dismissed by a judge, News 12 Long Island reported March 25.
Amanda Burke, RN, 29, was caring for the infant in the West Islip, N.Y.-based Good Samaritan University Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit in February 2023. The child's father said he witnessed and recorded her picking up the infant, flipping him over and roughly putting him back down in the bassinet. The child's father immediately alerted hospital staff, and the nurse was sent home and fired a few hours later. The infant was not hurt, and Ms. Burke was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office notified the state Department of Education's Office of Professional Discipline of the investigation. However, Ms. Burke's registered nurse license was not yet suspended, according to the attorney's office release.
In July, the education department's professional discipline review was completed, and it found Ms. Burke's actions "do not constitute professional misconduct" and the incident involved "alleged simple negligence" not "gross negligence."
The district attorney's office told News 12 that Ms. Burke did not act with gross negligence, so her conduct did not meet the standard requirements for an endangering charge. The charges were dismissed by a judge.