For the second time in three months, a toddler overdosed on pills reportedly left with in the child's reach by a North Palm Beach-area woman, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office records state.
Jeanette Homan, 43, was arrested Thursday on multiple charges of child neglect and perjury after telling authorities the 19-month-old had possibly ingested two narcotic pain reliever pills earlier that day. At first, she said someone had spilled the pills, and later she claimed that she may have dropped one or two pills.
Records indicate Homan called 911 on Thursday to report a dispute between her and a person she initially said threw the bottle of buprenorphine pills. She mentioned to the dispatcher that rescue crews might want to bring an ambulance because the child seemed to be overdosing. The relationship between Homan and the child is redacted from the report.
Crews used multiple doses of Narcan to revive the toddler, who was first taken to Jupiter Medical Center and then to St. Mary’s Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit in West Palm Beach, records state.
When authorities searched the woman’s North Palm Beach-area home, they found an open medicine bottle and pills scattered across a dresser where the child could reach them.
Jupiter Medical’s staff told sheriff’s deputies the child also had overdosed in October after reportedly ingesting two 1-milligram clonazepam pills. The sedative is used to treat seizures and panic disorders.
At that time, Homan told the hospital staff she had dropped the pills in the middle of the night. The toddler swallowed the pills at about 8 a.m. but wasn’t taken to a hospital until about 11 a.m. after Homan noticed the child couldn’t walk.
Homan was being held in the Palm Beach County Jail on Friday afternoon in lieu of a $51,000 bond.
The Florida Department of Children and Families appears to be investigating the case as well, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
About the Author
