A Georgia mother was terrified she could lose custody of her child after an urgent care center mistakenly claimed her five-year-old daughter had multiple sexually transmitted diseases, triggering a brief investigation by the state’s Division of Family and Children Services.
The mother, whose identity was not revealed by Fox 5 Atlanta to protect the family’s privacy, said the ordeal happened after she brought her sick daughter to an urgent care center in the College Park area of Atlanta for testing.
“They ended up telling me that she had trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and I knew right then it was incorrect because I protect my daughter," the mother told Fox 5 in an interview.
Under state law, the urgent care staff had to report the results to Family and Children Services.
The mother said she “couldn’t even breathe” when officers showed up at her home.
"I was really thinking like they’re about to take my child away from me,” the mother said, tearfully. “I knew I was the best mom, and nothing happened to her."
Follow-up testing at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as at the urgent care, indicated the STD results were negative.
But the mother says the situation has left her young daughter feeling “violated” and confused.
"My daughter is five and you don’t want to put those kinds of things on a five-year-old," the mother said. "She’s still wondering, why did that happen to her? Why did the doctor and the police come? Why was she looked at down there?"
Stephen Fowler, an attorney representing the family, told Fox 5 Atlanta that the case is “still being investigated,” but the family is considering next steps to “get justice.”
"We’re still looking for results and answers and responses. But what we’ve seen so far, there is evidence of some serious concerns of the handling of this child’s healthcare,” Fowler told the news outlet.
In a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta, attorneys at Delgado Heidari LLC, which represents the urgent care center, said the facility is “obligated to follow all laws ranging from protecting patient privacy to mandatory reporting requirements.”
The attorney said the urgent care only reports results and uses a third-party lab for testing.
The Independent has contacted Delgado Heidari LLC, the Fowler Firm and the Division of Family and Children Services for comment.
