A registered nurse who formerly worked at Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents in New Kent, Va., is calling for it to be shut down after she said she witnessed child abuse at the facility, according to CBS 6.
The nurse, who asked not to be identified, resigned from the hospital in July.
"My soul will not allow me to continue employment within a facility where children are knowingly abused without appropriate action being taken," reads the resignation letter the nurse sent to the hospital's CEO. "Under no circumstances is abuse against a patient, much less a special needs child, appropriate in any fashion!"
The nurse claims she reported an "abusive staff member" on several occasions, and no action was taken by hospital leaders.
The nurse resigned about five months after a CBS 6 investigation revealed the hospital had been at the center of a criminal investigation of allegations of child abuse and neglect since October 2017.
The Virginia State Police told CBS 6 the investigation continues.
"Shut it down, shut it down until they can revamp," the nurse told CBS 6 in response to a question about what action the state should take against the hospital. "I believe Cumberland can be a phenomenal facility. However, it is not there now. It's just not there. It's not safe."
The CBS 6 investigation also found that from 2015 until February 2020, the Virginia Health Department said it received 31 complaints about the facility, of which 18 were founded.
"Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents has been, and continues to be, in good standing with our licensing and regulatory authorities," the hospital said in a statement to CBS 6 earlier this year. "We are surveyed regularly, and like many healthcare facilities, address any deficiencies that may be cited. Further, any complaint or allegation is taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and addressed as appropriate."
Read the full CBS 6 article here.
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