Newborns Are With Correct Parents, Tests Confirm

Medical tests have established that two newborns recently released from Western Medical Center-Santa Ana are with the right parents, hospital officials said Thursday.

To resolve any possibility that the babies had been sent home with the wrong parents, the hospital ordered blood and DNA tests on the infants and parents Wednesday. Hospital spokesman John Boop said the results conclusively show the infants’ identities.

However, citing patient confidentiality, he declined to address a key question: whether the children had originally been sent home with the wrong parents.

“I have the results back, and what I can tell you is that the right mother is with the right baby,” Boop said. “The rest is a medical-records issue, and I can’t divulge that to anyone.”

He would not elaborate on how the confusion arose or whether something had led at least one parent to suspect that he had been sent home with the wrong infant. He also would not release the identities of the families, who he said have requested confidentiality.

“The test is back and it’s conclusive,” Boop said. “I can’t really say there was a mix-up. One of the parents was concerned, so we have taken steps to clarify the issue.”

Boop said the standard procedure is for infants to receive bracelets with identification numbers immediately after birth. He declined to say whether a problem with the bracelets was responsible for the confusion.

State Department of Health Services licensing officials said the hospital contacted their office Wednesday to report about the case.

“They said there was a possible incident of a problem with a baby going home, but they didn’t say that there was one,” said Jacqueline Lincer, a district administrator for the department’s health services licensing and certification division. “It’s an allegation at this point.”

Lincer said under a broad state regulation, hospitals are required to report any “unusual occurrences” as “soon as reasonably practical” by telephone or written report.