Security & Privacy Concerns Over Hospital's Handling Of Newborn

MIAMI (CBS4) - A CBS4 News investigation has led to a major shakeup at a South Florida Hospital.

CBS4's Natalia Zea uncovered security and privacy violations involving a newborn girl at Jackson South Community Hospital.

In early October, a drug-addicted mother gave birth to a baby girl at Jackson South, but sources within the hospital system say the actions of two senior level managers at the hospital put that baby in danger.

"When Channel 4 called us and let us know, asked us a question about this, we immediately began an investigation," said hospital spokesman Ed O'Dell.

Sources say the now former Chief Nursing Officer Ricky DeJesus and the now former OB Director Susana Brito allowed a stranger with no relation to the baby, Kendall Regional Hospital Vice President Eduardo Bustillo, to have multiple visits with the baby girl. De Jesus used to work with Bustillo at Kendal Regional.

Sources say allowing strangers to visit newborns is against all hospital protocol and policy. At one point sources say, Brito even disconnected the baby's ankle alarm and took her out of the maternity unit- within three days of her birth.

Sources within Jackson Health System tell Zea that Bustillo visited with the baby in a private maternity room with Brito present multiple times at Jackson South. They say at one point on he brought his family to visit the baby and referred to himself as the baby's new father.

In a phone conversation with Zea, Bustillo denied ever claiming to be the father. But he did confirm that he visited with the baby. He says DeJesus called him and asked him to come take the baby so she wouldn't go to the Department of Children and Families and end up in the system.

Bustillo is a foster parent for DCF and his family attorney says he is in the process of adopting a toddler. Bustillo says he was only trying to care for the baby until the courts sorted out her permanent home.

Bustillo's family attorney told us "The Bustillos are a good family. Good religious folk. They were trying to do something nice. Someone reached out to Eduardo and that's a problem for Jackson. Jackson should monitor its people far better than they do."

Apparently Jackson officials agree.

"We take patient privacy extremely seriously and for that reason I can't discuss anything having to do with the patient- however any time patient privacy is violated- there are repercussions for that. There are reprimands for that. And it leads all the way to termination. And in this case, 2 people were terminated," said Ed O'Dell.

CBS4 News tried to reach DeJesus and Brito for comment late Tuesday afternoon and has not yet heard back from them. So where is that baby girl now? DCF managers say they picked her up from the hospital 6 days after her birth, after someone called the child welfare hotline informing them she had been drug exposed through her birth mother. She is still within the DCF system.