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Parent of former patient at Children's Hospital noted security concerns during her stay in February

7 months 2 weeks 2 days ago Friday, March 29 2024 Mar 29, 2024 March 29, 2024 6:11 PM March 29, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - After a scare at OLOL Children's Hospital led to the arrest of a 21-year-old woman, many questions have been raised regarding the safety of sick children at the facility. 

Arrest documents say Dinesty Selmon, 21, fraudulently obtained a parent/caregiver pass and frequently gained access to restricted areas. Selmon became fixated on a 9-month-old in the pediatric ICU and obtained the baby's medical records somehow. 

"It seems like they stopped her a couple of times and she wasn't blacklisted immediately," Colleen Kissel, a parent, said.

Kissel was with her son at the hospital for 12 days in February while he underwent surgery. During her stay, she says she noticed how relaxed security could be at times. 

"If you have a parent/caregiver pass, they just glance at it and let you go. I was bringing in boxes, they make sure you have it but they don't stop you to check the date or the room number," Kissel said. 

Despite her observations, she never worried about the safety of her own child because she knew she would be watching him.

"We were lucky enough to have a parent 24/7 with our kid, so we weren't worried about our kid but there are parents that are not as lucky who have to work and can't be with their kid all the time," Kissel said.

Our Lady of the Lake released a statement addressing their security: 

"Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital is committed to providing a safe environment for those entrusted to our care during some of the most vulnerable moments of their young lives. As a best practice we continuously evaluate our security protocols and make adjustments, some visible and others not visible. After becoming aware of the malicious tactics employed by this individual and in coordination and consultation with law enforcement, we limited access to campus and implemented heightened visitation policies until law enforcement could neutralize any risk this person posed to our campus or community."

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