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A Georgia mother is 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. a brief investigation By the state Division of Family and Children Services.
Mother, whose identity has not been disclosed By Fox 5 Atlanta To protect the family’s privacy, she said the ordeal occurred when she brought her sick daughter to an urgent care center in the College Park area of Atlanta for testing.
“They told me she had trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and I knew it was wrong because I protect my daughter,” the mother told Fox 5 in an interview.
under State Law, Urgent care staff had to report the results to Family and Child Services.
The mother said she “couldn’t even breathe” when officers arrived at her home.
“I was really thinking like they were going to take my baby away from me,” the mother said, crying. “I knew I was the best mom, and nothing happened to him.”
STD results were negative during follow-up testing at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as at the urgent care.
But the mother says the situation has left her young daughter feeling “humiliated” and confused.
The mother said, “My daughter is five years old and you wouldn’t want to impose things like this on a five-year-old.” “She’s still wondering why this happened to her? Why did the doctors and the police come? Why was she seen 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 is evidence of some serious concerns in the management of this child’s health care,” Fowler told the news outlet.
In a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta, attorneys with Delgado Heidari LLC, which represents the urgent care center, said the facility is “obligated to follow all laws from protecting patient privacy to mandatory reporting requirements.”
The attorney said Urgent Care only reports the results and uses a third-party laboratory for testing.
Independent Delgado Heidari LLC, the Fowler Firm and the Family and Children’s Services Division have been contacted for comment.