Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, N.Y., has fired a nurse who appears to have roughly handled a newborn baby on a video filmed by the child's father, according to a report from News12 New Jersey.
The child's family members said the incident occurred Feb. 6. Video obtained by the news outlet appears to show an individual in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit pick up the infant, flip them over and roughly put them back down in the bassinet. The video appears to be filmed through a small opening in a closed curtain outside of the neonatal ICU. The child's father immediately alerted hospital staff and the nurse was sent home, family members told News12.
Rockville Centre, N.Y.-based Catholic Health, which owns Good Samaritan University Hospital, said the individual has been terminated.
"Upon learning of this incident, swift and immediate action was taken, including conducting an investigation and consequently terminating the individual involved," the system said in a statement emailed to Becker's Feb. 24. "Additionally, we reported the individual to the Department of Health for further review. Keeping our patients safe remains our paramount concern."
Catholic Health also said it is "standard procedure" to have curtains in the neonatal ICU, citing the privacy of patients and families. "Immediate family members are permitted inside the nonatal ICU to spend time with their loved ones," the system said in their statement.
The baby is doing well, the family told the news outlet.