Baby died from infection; state continues investigation at registered child care home
A baby who had been in a registered child care home died in March from an infection in a rare Tarrant County death attributed to a bacteria, according to officials with the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office and Tarrant County Public Health.
Hadley Rae Fowler, 8 months old, died from Klebsiella oxytoca sepsis and her death was natural, according to a recent ruling by officials at the medical examiner’s office.
The owner of the child care home nor Hadley’s parents could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
Detectives with the crimes against children unit and officials with the Texas Department of Family Protective Services child care unit began an investigation in March after emergency crews found Hadley unconscious in the Fort Worth home and rushed her to a local hospital, where she died.
State officials investigated the incident because the home is a registered child care center.
Officials at the medical examiner’s office issued the ruling just a few weeks ago after test results were complete. Klebsiella oxytoca sepsis is a systemic response to an infection that can lead to organ failure and death, according to officials at Tarrant County Public Health in Fort Worth.
Klebsiella oxytoca sepsis is occurs in patients who typically contract it by respiratory, bloodstream or urinary tract infections, often in patients who have previously been treated with antibiotics.
“It can cause pneumonia and colitis,” according to a statement released by officials with Tarrant County Public Health. “It can be an agent of hospital-acquired infection and may be resistant to many first line antibiotics.”
From 2006 to 2015, there were no deaths among Tarrant County residents attributed to Klebsiella oxytoca sepsis in a direct way or as a contributing cause of death, according to the most recent statistics by Tarrant County Public Health.
Fort Worth police said Tuesday the case is closed and no charges were filed.
Officials with the Texas Department of Family Protective Services said Tuesday an investigation on the daycare is still open.
“Once it’s complete, the results will be sent to TX HHSC (Texas Health and Human Services Commission) which licenses and regulates child cares,” said Marissa Gonzales, a regional spokeswoman for the Department of Family and Protective Services, in an email. “HHSC will decide what, if any action to take.”
Hadley was at the child care home in northwest Fort Worth on March 19.
A caller at the home said a baby was unconscious and not breathing, according to a police call log.
The home is licensed to serve infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarten and school children with hours of operation from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It has been registered since 2004, according to Texas Health and Human Services.
The capacity in the home is nine, but authorities did not comment on how many children were at the home on March 19.
This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.
