Newborn’s bassinet knocked over after nurse passed out in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – At three days old, Ky’Air Patton has a story more unique than anyone in his family after the bassinet he slept in was knocked over by a nurse who passed out while caring for him.

The scary situation happened on March 6, 2023, at Novant Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte.

Norman Patton, Ky’Air’s father, said his nurse came in and appeared not entirely okay.

“She got in the room; she started saying she was hot,” Patton explained. “Maybe daisy. So, like I said, I turned on the air for her and as she was going out the door, the whole cart flipped over — sideways.” 

The bassinet fell roughly three feet to the ground.

Ky’Air’s chart information said that he did not fall out of the bassinet, but his mother said his head and upper body were. The nurse was checked out quickly by doctors, while Ky’Air was admitted to the NICU for observation for roughly six hours.

“That’s nothing a parent wants to see,” Patton said.

While the couple has returned home, they fear it could happen to someone else.

They said they did not blame the nurse and wanted to ensure she was okay. However, they stressed that they hope hospital managers look closer at staff’s physical condition during shifts and intervene if someone does not appear fully healthy.

Novant Health would not respond to the allegations but released a statement:

“While we are unable to address inquiries about patient care for privacy reasons, safety is our top priority at Novant Health, so any patient concern is taken seriously.” 

 According to MyChart information shared by the family: 

“Infant was having evening bilirubin drawn at ~2050. RN had a syncopal episode while drawing the sample and fell on top of the bassinet. The bassinet fell to the floor with the baby contained inside. 

Bassinet was not higher than 3 feet from the ground when it fell. Infant was not ejected from the bassinet. Mother witnessed the event but was unable to tell if baby’s head or upper body hit the floor or the side of the bassinet. 

Mother unable to recall if baby cried immediately afterward. NICU team was notified of event. Neonatologist . . . evaluated baby around 2110 with normal exam. Infant was taken to NICU for observation overnight with serial neuro exams/checks. 

There was no change to infant’s status on serial exams. He is feeding well; transferred back to mother’s room this morning. 

He is well appearing on exam; awake and alert. There is no swelling, bruising, tenderness, or erythema noted over scalp or neck; no crepitus felt over scalp. Per Dr. . . . note, no neuroimaging warranted due to infant’s stable status and neuro exam. 

Discussed need to stay overnight for observation with parents and they 

verbalized understanding. Grandmother at bedside around 1540. Family now requesting head ultrasound. Discussed with neonatologist . . . who agreed that neuroimaging is not warranted. 

Discussed with family and reiterated that based on infant’s exam and clinical status, a head ultrasound is not medically recommended. . .” 

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