“What are your responsibilities?”
“I am a neonatal nurse. I help deliver babies, I am in the OR during C-sections, I care for the mothers and then postdelivery, for the newborns.”
“How many hours a week did you work?”
“Forty-plus,” she replies. “We often were asked to pull some overtime.”
“Ruth, are you married?”
“I’m a widow,” she says. “My husband was a soldier who died in Afghanistan. It happened about ten years ago.”
“Do you have any children?”
“Yes, my son, Edison. He’s seventeen.” Her eyes shine, and she searches Edison out in the gallery.
“Do you recall coming to work the morning of October second, 2015?”
“Yes,” Ruth says. “I came in at sevenA.M.for a twelve-hour shift.”
“Were you assigned to watch Davis Bauer?”
“Yes. His mother had delivered early that morning. I was assigned to do typical postpartum care of Brittany Bauer, and a nurse’s newborn exam.”
She describes the exam, and says she conducted it in the hospital room.
“So Brittany Bauer was present?”
“Yes,” Ruth says. “So was her husband.”
“Was there any significant finding during this exam?”
“I noted a heart murmur in the file. It wasn’t something I felt that we needed to be alarmed about—it’s a very common condition for newborns. But it was definitely something for the pediatrician to check out the next time she came back, which was why I wrote it down.”
“Did you know Mr. and Mrs. Bauer prior to the birth of their son?”
“No,” Ruth replies. “I met them when I came into the room. I congratulated them on their beautiful baby boy, and explained I was there to do a routine check.”
“How long were you in the room with them?”
“Ten to fifteen minutes.”
“Did you have any verbal exchange with the parents at that time?”
“I mentioned the murmur, and that it wasn’t any reason for concern. And I told them his sugar levels had improved since birth. Then after I cleaned the baby up, I suggested we try to have him nurse.”
“What response did you get?”
“Mr. Bauer told me to get away from his wife. Then he said he wanted to speak to my supervisor.”
“How did that make you feel, Ruth?”
“I was shocked,” she admits. “I didn’t know what I’d done to upset them.”
“What happened next?”
“My boss, Marie Malone, put a note in the baby’s file, stating that no African American staff should come in contact with the infant. I questioned her about it, and she said it was done at the request of the parents, and that I would be reassigned.”
“When did you next see the baby?”
