A Pennsylvania childcare center has been closed down days after a 3-month old infant died while in its care.
McKenna Rose was left unsupervised at her crib for half an hour on April 1st. When the caretaker returned, the infant’s lips had turned blue. An employee called 911, and McKenna was taken to Palmerton hospital, where she was declared dead.
On April 5, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services issued an emergency closure order to Sharon’s Day Care in Lehigh Township, citing several violations, including leaving the infant unsupervised and putting the infant in the stomach sleeping position.
Infants placed on their stomaches to sleep are more likely to suffer from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
McKenna’s death has caused much grief for her family. She had died on the very first day her mother had returned to work.
Her family said that McKenna had showed “no signs of illness or distress” when dropped off at daycare, and that her mother had called the daycare three times during that day to check up on her.
McKenna’s mother had left work at 3:30, and received a call at 3:39 from the daycare to tell her that McKenna was no longer breathing. They rushed her to the hospital, but the doctors couldn’t save her.
“I’m not sure how we are supposed to go on,” wrote the girl’s father, Brian Felmly. “There’s no reason why a 3.5 month old healthy baby girl should have lost her life yesterday.”
An autopsy performed on Saturday showed no signs of trauma or injury, but it could take 14 weeks to find the true cause of death.
