By:Karenlyn Barone
The following day, Nassau County police said there was no obvious cause of death, and that a preliminary investigation did not show any signs of trauma or obstruction of the infant-s airway. As the Herald went to press, the Nassau County Medical Examiner-s Office was still awaiting results from toxicology, virology and bacteriology examinations, which are expected to be complete in the next few weeks.
According to Nassau County detectives, Dannah was in a baby room at the day-care center with five other infants and two staff caregivers. According to state law, there must be a minimum of one caregiver for every four infants. Police said she was fed a bottle with formula at about 4 p.m., burped and then placed on her stomach in her crib. Police said that about 30 minutes later, a caregiver checked on her and discovered that she was not breathing. The director of the center was alerted, and she attempted to resuscitate the baby. Two calls were made to 911 one from a caregiver, and one from a mother who was in the baby room visiting her own child at the time.
Dannah was rushed to Mercy Medical Center, where, according to a police report, she was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m. Her brother, Justin Guevara, 4, and her sister, Chelsea, 3, are also enrolled in Kiddie Academy, and were at the center at the time of the incident. The children-s mother, Carolina Garcia, 27, and Dannah-s father, Alberto Perez, 42, could not be reached for comment, but in a televised press conference the day after the tragedy, they expressed their belief that Kiddie Academy was not responsible for their daughter-s death. Dannah-s siblings were in attendance the next morning.
Kiddie Academy, a week later
Dannah-s death has shocked and grieved two families her own and that of the owners of Kiddie Academy. In a press release, the owners, Deann and Vincent Belluccia, stated, We are all mourning her death and express our deepest condolences to the child-s family.
A week later, Dannah was laid to rest on Monday, and the Belluccias were still feeling devastated by the tragedy. In an interview with the Herald, Deann expressed her sadness and feelings of loss. She said that, combined with her concern for Dannah-s parents, the grief was overwhelming. We are devastated, Vincent said.
The Belluccias have owned the Maryland-based Kiddie Academy, on Broadway in Lynbrook, for three years. The couple, both certified public accountants, said they saw a need for quality day care and decided to trade in the corporate world for days filled with children and caregiving.
Kiddie Academy is licensed by the state to provide care to 184 children, from six-week-old infants to kindergartners. The one-story brick building is light-filled and airy, with a spacious outdoor play center and a colorful, child friendlly decor. There are 12 rooms, a food-preparation area and a large all-purpose playroom. Tuition runs between $800 and $1,000 depending on how much time a child spends there.
The owners said they regularly surpass the state-required teacher-to-student ratio in their classrooms as well as the number of caregivers required in its infant rooms. Teachers are licensed by the state, and caregivers are certified day-care providers. Every staff member is trained for emergencies, though the state requires that only one person on staff have such training.
We made a conscious effort to take this day-care facility to another level, said Vincent. We wanted to be a cut above the other local facilities. We have always done what we need to do to be above the standard.
That commitment guided them to install live-stream video that enables parents and other family members to view their children on a Web site at any time of day. Cameras are located throughout the building. I don-t think anyone else on Long Island has it, said Deann. Any relative can go on the Internet and watch. It is peace of mind and a comfort to be able to see that their children are safe.
Vincent was intent on installing the expensive technology, reasoning that if parents couldn-t be at the center with their children, they could at least look in on them.
Administrators from the the New York State Office of Children and Family Services visited the facility the day after Dannah-s death. Truth is, the state is here all the time, said Vincent. And no violations were issued to us that day, pending a final report.
Following the infant-s death, only two sets of parents pulled their children out of the center. Both families were recent enrollees. Everyone who came in this door with concerns, we have been open with, said Vincent. We also gave every parent a note regarding the violations. He was referring to a newspaper report that the facility had received several violations in its three years of operation.
The average school gets violations each year, said Vincent. If we get a violation, we correct it. The couple was candid about the eight violations they have received over the past three years. According to their records, one was issued because they did not have updated medical records for a child. The state requires that by a child-s birthday, you have an updated medical, explained Deann. We will not let a child start here unless we have current medical records. This was a violation for not having updated records for a child who had reached their next birthday. The child-s parents, they said, did not provide a new medical report before the child-s birthday.
Another violation addressed the issue of bottles in the cribs of infants. As the Belluccias explained it, a caregiver knew that one infant held a bottle at home in order to sleep, so she placed the bottle in the crib with the baby.
A violation for child endangerment was issued for the lack of a decal on the bottom portion of a door. We usually paint something on the door, and this door was no exception, but for the wear and tear of the decal, which made it virtually invisible, said Vincent.
One incident resulted in a charge of lack of supervision. A teacher changed a child-s diaper in a changing area, which is in full view of her classroom. The state recommends that a health-care provider bring any other children who are present into the changing area with her, but in that case the teacher did not feel it was necessary, given her unobstructed view of all the other children.
Vincent said that each violation was addressed and corrected.
We have put our hearts and our souls into this place, said Vincent. Dannah-s older brother and sister are still enrolled and attending the facility daily, which, the Belluccias feel, speaks volumes. I have relatives- children here, said Vincent. They would never be here if there was a problem.
In fact, after an intensive six-hour investigation after the infant-s death, the police told the Belluccias they could reopen the baby room where Dannah was found. Her grief-stricken parents, who speak limited English, returned to the facility late that night, and were met by the Belluccias, who asked them if they needed anything. They asked us to help them with the funeral arrangements, said Vincent. We provided two staff members who acted as translators for them.
I can-t change or fix this for them, Vincent added. And that-s the hard part.
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KBarone@liherald.com or at (516) 569-4000, ext. 202.
