A nurse who was fired after allegedly "slamming" the face of a 2-day-old infant into a bassinet was cleared of misconduct by the state agency, NBC New York reported July 26.
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. The child's father 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.
The Education Department's professional discipline review was completed this month, and they found Ms. Burke's actions "do not constitute professional misconduct" and the incident involved "alleged simple negligence" not "gross negligence."
"There was nothing that Amanda did that warranted them to take any action whatsoever," Ms. Burke's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, told the news outlet. "I remain eternally hopeful and optimistic that the DA will come to realize that this case doesn't belong in criminal court."
A spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney told NBC New York they will continue to prosecute the case, with the next court date in late August.