Nurse arrested, charged with injuring 1-month-old at Provo hospital
Dec 5, 2023, 6:59 PM | Updated: 7:02 pm
A nurse at Utah Valley Hospital was charged Tuesday with aggravated child abuse involving a 1-month-old in his care,. (Yukai Peng, Deseret News)
(Yukai Peng, Deseret News)
PROVO — A nurse at Utah Valley Hospital has been arrested and charged with being too rough with an infant under his care.
Kaycen Warren Caldwell, 29, of Orem, was booked into the Utah County Jail Monday and charged in 4th District Court Tuesday with aggravated child abuse, a third-degree felony.
The investigation began in November when police were notified of a 1-month-old boy who had injuries “clearly consistent with squeeze and grab marks from hands,” according to a police booking affidavit.
A woman stated she had logged into a livestream app that allows her to watch her grandson through a camera set up in his hospital room. She says she could tell the infant was crying.
“The nurse came over and was being really rough with the infant. The witness further explained that the nurse used very abrupt movements, pushing the infant down abruptly in quick jerking motions into the head of the crib,” according to the affidavit.
Police say the livestream was then observed by a second family member.
Charging documents allege that “the grandmother saw a nurse throw the infant into its crib and handle the infant roughly.”
Investigators consulted a child abuse pediatrician from the University of Utah who found “the infant victim had bruising on the forearms, chest, and thighs” and that “the bruising was not consistent with the care the victim was receiving. (The doctor) stated that the bruises were a result of aggressive handling of the victim” and “was indicative of abusive squeezing,” the charges state.
The infant’s parents went to the hospital the next day and reported seeing bruising on his arms and abdomen.
“For the safety of their infant, and the information provided by the witnesses, the parents requested that Kaycen no longer be their infant’s primary care provider,” according to the arrest report.
Utah Valley Hospital released a brief statement on Tuesday regarding the arrest. “We take the safety and welfare of all of our patients very seriously. We are aware of these serious accusations and are fully cooperating with investigators in this matter.”
