A medically fragile toddler who was supposed to be transported to a Cobb County daycare center was instead left on a bus for four hours in the summer heat. He then required hospital treatment for dehydration.
The center, Pediatric Services of America Healthcare, located on Roswell Road, closed abruptly in August, days after the July 31 incident. In September, two employees of the center were arrested following an investigation by Cobb County police.
Details about why a state monitoring agency ordered the center to be closed were obtained through an open records request by Channel 2 Action News.
Arrest warrants were issued for Tamara Sue Robbins, of Hiram, and Michelle Ava Bierkamp, of Dallas, on Sept. 19 on one charge each of contributing to the deprivation of a minor, records show. Both Robbins and Bierkamp turned themselves in the same day and were released the following day after each posted $1,000 bond, according to booking records.
Robbins worked as a nurse for the daycare center, her arrest warrant states.
“Said accused was a nurse on the bus that transported children from their home to the daycare,” the warrant states. “Said accused was responsible for monitoring the victim due to his disability. Said accused arrived at daycare where she got off the bus and entered the daycare.”
Robbins allegedly did not check to see if any children remained on the bus, according to police.
Bierkamp was the bus driver and arrived at the center around 8:30 a.m. on July 31, her warrant states. But she did not check the bus for children before entering the center, according to police.
“Said accused then re-entered the bus and parked the bus in the parking lot and left for the day,” her warrant states.
The child was not found inside the bus until 12:40 p.m. and was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite for treatment of dehydration, the warrants state.
The center’s abrupt closing caught parents such as Samantha Holsclaw off guard, she told Channel 2.
“Most of us felt like we were being caught between a rock and hard place because we needed care for our kids, but we wanted adequate care for our kids,” she said.
PSA Healthcare, which operates centers throughout the country, declined to discuss the center’s closing with Channel 2.
About the Author
