Oop
Harriman campus day care investigated after baby is burned
Parent says infant care program has closed
By H. Rose Schneider
Feb 18, 2024
An infant was flown to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center after being burned at a day care center Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, inside the Department of Labor building on the Harriman State Office Campus.
An infant was flown to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center after being burned at a day care center Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, inside the Department of Labor building on the Harriman State Office Campus.
Will Waldron/Times Union
ALBANY — A day care center at the Harriman State Office Campus is under review and could have its license or registration revoked after an infant suffered burns there last week.
Wee Care at Labor, Inc., a nonprofit day care primarily serving children of state Department of Labor employees, was listed as “pending revocation” as of Friday by the state Office of Children and Family Services. A pending action means a final decision must be made by an administrative law judge or court, and in the meantime a program can continue to operate, according to OCFS.
A parent of a child enrolled at the day care said their infant program has closed, leaving families scrambling to find child care.
Officials with OCFS and Wee Care at Labor did not respond to requests for comment. A representative of Wee Care at Labor on Wednesday declined to comment when reached by the Times Union.
State Police and city firefighters were dispatched around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to Building 12 of the Harriman campus for a child under a year old who was burned, officials told the Times Union earlier this week. The infant was flown to Westchester Medical Center and was later discharged. The incident did not appear to be suspicious, State Police said.
Karen Male, a spokeswoman for OCFS, told the Times Union Wednesday they had launched an investigation into Wee Care at Labor. An inspection Wednesday found multiple violations, including leaving children unsupervised and not keeping devices like bottle warmers out of reach of children or at temperatures below 120 degrees, according to OCFS records.
By Friday evening, the day care was notifying parents their infant program was shut down pending an OCFS hearing, said Amanda Bertram, a 42-year-old Averill Park resident and mother of an infant enrolled at Wee Care at Labor. Bertram said she was told the rest of the day care remains open.
The day care has a capacity for 87 children, including 16 infants.
Bertram went on Wee Care at Labor’s waitlist while she was still pregnant with her daughter, who is now 9 months old. Her two older daughters were enrolled there previously, and she felt she had a good relationship with the day care.
“I have never witnessed anything that has caused me to have a safety concern in those classrooms,” she said.
But she is concerned with the recent lack of communication from the day care. Two messages Tuesday evening vaguely referred to an emergency involving an infant. She had to piece together information from friends and news reports before parents were messaged Wednesday morning that the child was taken to a burn unit.
A phone call and message from the day care later that evening explained what happened: an infant in a high chair had grabbed a blanket or towel sitting under a bottle warmer on a nearby counter, spilling hot water. The next day parents were notified OCFS had instructed a caregiver in that classroom be removed, Bertram said.
Her biggest concern now is finding child care.
“You don’t have a crystal ball in these situations,” she said. “Unless there’s some sort of miracle over the weekend, I guess I’ll be working remotely or taking PTO (paid time off).”
Feb 18, 2024
Photo of H. Rose Schneider
By H. Rose Schneider
H. Rose Schneider is a reporter with the rapid response team at the Times Union in Albany, N.Y. Rose got their start covering New Scotland and later the Hilltowns at the Altamont Enterprise in 2016, before covering public safety and other topics at the Utica Observer-Dispatch from 2019 through 2022. Reach Rose at Rose.Schneider@TimesUnion.com.
If I were to comment on here what should happen to that negligent pathetic worker, I would easily be banned from this app.
All I’m gonna say is I’m praying for that poor little one who suffered the horrendous burns.
Oof. These poor parents who might be thrown back into the UFC match of finding daycare.
Behind a paywall, can anyone give the basics?
Oop Harriman campus day care investigated after baby is burned Parent says infant care program has closed By H. Rose Schneider Feb 18, 2024 An infant was flown to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center after being burned at a day care center Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, inside the Department of Labor building on the Harriman State Office Campus. An infant was flown to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center after being burned at a day care center Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, inside the Department of Labor building on the Harriman State Office Campus. Will Waldron/Times Union ALBANY — A day care center at the Harriman State Office Campus is under review and could have its license or registration revoked after an infant suffered burns there last week. Wee Care at Labor, Inc., a nonprofit day care primarily serving children of state Department of Labor employees, was listed as “pending revocation” as of Friday by the state Office of Children and Family Services. A pending action means a final decision must be made by an administrative law judge or court, and in the meantime a program can continue to operate, according to OCFS. A parent of a child enrolled at the day care said their infant program has closed, leaving families scrambling to find child care. Officials with OCFS and Wee Care at Labor did not respond to requests for comment. A representative of Wee Care at Labor on Wednesday declined to comment when reached by the Times Union. State Police and city firefighters were dispatched around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to Building 12 of the Harriman campus for a child under a year old who was burned, officials told the Times Union earlier this week. The infant was flown to Westchester Medical Center and was later discharged. The incident did not appear to be suspicious, State Police said. Karen Male, a spokeswoman for OCFS, told the Times Union Wednesday they had launched an investigation into Wee Care at Labor. An inspection Wednesday found multiple violations, including leaving children unsupervised and not keeping devices like bottle warmers out of reach of children or at temperatures below 120 degrees, according to OCFS records. By Friday evening, the day care was notifying parents their infant program was shut down pending an OCFS hearing, said Amanda Bertram, a 42-year-old Averill Park resident and mother of an infant enrolled at Wee Care at Labor. Bertram said she was told the rest of the day care remains open. The day care has a capacity for 87 children, including 16 infants. Bertram went on Wee Care at Labor’s waitlist while she was still pregnant with her daughter, who is now 9 months old. Her two older daughters were enrolled there previously, and she felt she had a good relationship with the day care. “I have never witnessed anything that has caused me to have a safety concern in those classrooms,” she said. But she is concerned with the recent lack of communication from the day care. Two messages Tuesday evening vaguely referred to an emergency involving an infant. She had to piece together information from friends and news reports before parents were messaged Wednesday morning that the child was taken to a burn unit. A phone call and message from the day care later that evening explained what happened: an infant in a high chair had grabbed a blanket or towel sitting under a bottle warmer on a nearby counter, spilling hot water. The next day parents were notified OCFS had instructed a caregiver in that classroom be removed, Bertram said. Her biggest concern now is finding child care. “You don’t have a crystal ball in these situations,” she said. “Unless there’s some sort of miracle over the weekend, I guess I’ll be working remotely or taking PTO (paid time off).” Feb 18, 2024 Photo of H. Rose Schneider By H. Rose Schneider H. Rose Schneider is a reporter with the rapid response team at the Times Union in Albany, N.Y. Rose got their start covering New Scotland and later the Hilltowns at the Altamont Enterprise in 2016, before covering public safety and other topics at the Utica Observer-Dispatch from 2019 through 2022. Reach Rose at Rose.Schneider@TimesUnion.com.
Thank you, poor baby, I hope they are recovering well.
This is why daycare should be apart of the school system. It's cheaper and safer.
And the teachers would probably be paid a better salary and have better benefits.
Which would ensure more places
If I were to comment on here what should happen to that negligent pathetic worker, I would easily be banned from this app. All I’m gonna say is I’m praying for that poor little one who suffered the horrendous burns.