A Hillside nurse has been charged with scalding a 2-year-old Jersey City girl on Friday, leaving her in critical condition with third degree burns to her "lower extremities," officials said today.
The nurse, Ellen Ejimkonye, 30, made her first court appearance today on the charges of aggravated assault on Destiny Malak, endangering the welfare of the child and child abuse, the criminal complaint says....
...Destiny, who was born prematurely and requires the care of in-home nurses, is on a feeding tube and will need extreme grafting in order to minimize scarring from the burns that cover over 18 percent of her body, Gurgis said....
There is no one listed by the name Ellen Ejimkonye in the registry:
It is clear that you are close to this case. I am so sorry that this happened to your family/friend/child. We as nurses are appalled that anyone caring for a child could inflict this sort of torture and the agency that allowed this person to continue to practice with an expired license, for over a year, needs to be exposed and closed.
NO ONE HERE is defending the accused and we all agree that she needs to be punished for this heinous act. I think you are close to the situation and aren't really "hearing" what is being said here. We are on your side.
This...said it better than I could have.
Add me to one who had taken care of a child with similar burns and the subsequent PTSD the child faced...my prayers are to this child and the family.
Thanks to all! It's been heartbreaking, and some of the blogs I read are so hurtful. I apologize for getting so crazy.,, you're right, I can't keep reading the blogs. Please accept my apologies and I beg you all to pray for baby Destiny
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
First of all, the spelling on the name has been misconstrued by all of the papers. This nurse was a home practical nurse sent by a state funded agency. And, seriously, what is your motive in questioning whether she was a nurse or not? I think you are missing the point here. The bottom line is this this ellen Ejimkonye or whatever her name is is a sick person and got some sort of nursing certification and then tortured this innocent child. I hope she rots in jail!
The point is she is identified as a nurse, and she is not a nurse. Nurses constantly get a bad rap in the media because all kinds of people are identified as "nurses" when they aren't. See a related thread "Everyone is a nurse."
Yes, that is a sick person who deserves to rot in jail. But we nurses do not have to be embarrassed about her because she is not a nurse. That is the point.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
When I was a little girl I was scalded with hot water from an old fashioned coffee maker on the table I got my hand caught and pulled it over on myself. I have VIVID memories of that day and recovery. I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 70% of my body. I have no scars. I can't even imagine how horrifying his is for the family. I would be outraged if someone I "trusted" did this to my child.
I am so sorry for this families heartache and pain...my prayers for her rapid recovery
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Thanks to all! It's been heartbreaking, and some of the blogs I read are so hurtful. I apologize for getting so crazy.,, you're right, I can't keep reading the blogs. Please accept my apologies and I beg you all to pray for baby Destiny
Oh honey.... we are so sorry....((BIG HUGS)). Blogs will dirve you over the edge right now. The world is full of ugly nasty people whi feel they can say anything behind a computer screen. Here we are licensed professional who are outraged every time one of these "nurses" who are NOT licensed are portrayed by the news as "nurses" when they are NOT nurses at all.
As a nurse, you should have compassion for this poor girl. You should also know that no one accidentally boils a baby...and her screaming for 15 minutes wasn't a sign that the water was too hot?!?!
Wow...Where did you get the impression that compassion for the child was lacking?
Aside from the obvious disgust of a child being harmed by a caregiver another concern might be what is this caregivers credentials? Is she really a nurse or is this just another vague label when she's really a HHA, CNA, MA....the list goes on and on..
The word "nurse" tends to be thrown around too often to include just about "anyone" that even remotely gives care in a medical setting or has considered going to school to be one. It gives licensed nurses a bad name and that's why you'll see many nurses on here questioning if she was the real deal. That in no way implies what you are suggesting.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Whether this was a nurse, caregiver or random stranger the court will determine legal guilt. If the one report that when questioned, the accused stated that the injured areas were a "rash" is inconceivable. Even of the injury was accidental (didn't realize the water was hot enough to burn the child because of problem with the hot water heater) redness/ pain post bath is cause for concern. Why delay intervention? Why lie? (I have zero tolerance for liars whether it's poor research on behalf of the press or the caregiver who was responsible for the child....take responsibility for your actions, inaction and choices)
The child who was injured hopefully has a caring, skilled team at the burn center and good pain relief as well as qualified child life specialists to help with the psychological anguish in addition to the physical issues.
The issues in this thread were discussion of the media consistently demeaning the nursing profession from calling everyone from housekeeping to nursing assistants, medical assistance nurses when in 38 states the title "nurse" is legally protected and restricted to licensed RNs and LPNs. The fact that they cannot even get the accused's name correct between report editions and updates is inexcusable.
This child and parent(s) did nothing wrong but trust what should have been a qualified caregiver (whether CHHA, CNA, LPN or RN). Even if the one report I saw was accurate, in that the hot water heater was set to too high of a temp, that is why you TEST the bath water before putting someone in the tub. Basic baby care 101...check the temp of anything near the baby.
Thanks to all! It's been heartbreaking, and some of the blogs I read are so hurtful. I apologize for getting so crazy.,, you're right, I can't keep reading the blogs. Please accept my apologies and I beg you all to pray for baby Destiny
Sorry my phone keeps cutting out on me and I tried to respond right away...
I'm so sorry you are obviously suffering over this.
This is HORRIBLE! I pray I never have to go through that as a mother. Jesus himself wouldn't be able to hold be back from destroying that monster who burned my child. I am soooooo sorrry you're going through this. PRAYERS AND HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember when the entire nation was up in arms over the "nurse" in the ALF in CA who wouldn't provide CPR to one of the residents. She turned out to be nothing more than the administrative assistant if I recall correctly. Apparently to the news outlets, if you work in ANY capacity in a facility that provides healthcare, you're magically a nurse
As much as I appreciate accuracy, I never count on it from the media. I don't think it makes a difference what she is/isn't or what they call her, or at least not to the point that I'd get upset about it. In this case it appears she is a LPN with a lapsed license. I think that makes it appropriate to refer to her as a nurse. Pretty soon they can refer to her as an inmate.
LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN
8,429 Posts
This...said it better than I could have.
Add me to one who had taken care of a child with similar burns and the subsequent PTSD the child faced...my prayers are to this child and the family.