State officials cited a daycare center for 'gross negligence' after 3-month-old died on her first day at the facility.
Citing “gross negligence,” Pennsylvania officials shut down a daycare center after a three-month-old baby died on her mother’s first day back at work.
McKenna Rose Felmly was placed on her stomach for a nap and was later found unresponsive, state health officials said in issuing an emergency closure order last week.
Read: Daycare Worker in 'Baby Fight Club' Case Convicted of Child Abuse
Sharon’s Daycare Center in Lehigh Township was also cited for placing the baby on her stomach and for leaving her alone for “several periods throughout the day,” according to the baby’s father, Brian Felmly.
“I’m not sure how we are supposed to go on,” the dad wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page. “There’s no reason why a 3.5 month old healthy baby girl should have lost her life yesterday.”
A phone message left by InsideEdition.com at the daycare center was not immediately returned.
An autopsy found no signs of trauma, officials said. The cause of death won’t be determined until toxicology and other testing is completed, said Carbon County Coroner Robert Miller, according to The Morning Call.
The baby was not sick when she was dropped off at the center by her mother, Adrienne Kromer, about 7:45 a.m., the father said.
Kromer called three times to check on the infant, and was told everything was fine, Felmly said.
In the afternoon, the center called and said that McKenna wouldn’t take a bottle, so her mother left work early to pick her up, the dad said.
On the way there, a daycare worker called the mom on her cell phone and said McKenna had stopped breathing. By the time both parents got to the facility, McKenna had already been transported to a nearby hospital.
The baby died there.
Read: A Venomous Snake Was Found In a Child's Bed At a Daycare
"Adrienne's first day back to work. McKenna's first day at daycare.
“She feels like she's failed as a mom and I can't make that go away for her. Adrienne didn't want to go back to work for this very reason. And now we have to pay the ultimate price," Felmly wrote.
The death remains under investigation, authorities said. No arrests have been made.
Watch: Crying Toddler Rescued After Daycare Left Her Alone, Thought She Was a Doll
