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A College Park mother says her family is still reeling after an urgent care clinic mistakenly reported that her 5-year-old daughter had multiple sexually transmitted diseases, triggering police and child welfare investigations before later tests proved the results were wrong.
Test showed 5-year-old had STDs
The woman, whose identity FOX 5 is protecting for privacy reasons, said her daughter had been sick in April, so she took her to an urgent care center in College Park. Staff collected a urine sample, and the results shocked her.
“They told me they called me and when I went up there, they ended up telling me that she had trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and I knew right then that was incorrect because I protect my daughter,” the mother said.
The urgent care notified police and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, as required by law. The mother said the moment officers arrived at her home was terrifying.
“I couldn’t even breathe when they came to my house,” she said. “I was really thinking like they’re about to take my child away from me. I knew I was the best mom and nothing happened to her.”
Subsequent testing at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and a follow-up test ordered by the urgent care both came back negative. But the ordeal has left emotional scars.
“My daughter is 5 and you don’t want to put those kind of things on a five-year-old,” the mother said. “She’s still wondering why did that happen to her. Why did the doctor and the police come, why was she looked at down there?”
The mother said she’s sharing her story because, “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Probe into inaccurate test results
Attorney Stephen Fowler with The Fowler Firm said his team is investigating how the false results were handled.
“This case is still being investigated,” Fowler said. “We’re still looking for results and answers and responses, but what we’ve seen so far there is evidence of some serious concerns of the handling of this child’s healthcare.”
Fowler said the family is considering its next steps. “As of now, we’re seeking answers,” he said. “Then from there we want to ultimately get justice for this child.”
Urgent care responds
An attorney for the urgent care provided FOX 5 a statement saying the facility is “obligated to follow all laws ranging from protecting patient privacy to mandatory reporting requirements,” and that those laws are “put in place to protect all patients.”
The attorney also said the urgent care uses a third-party lab for testing and reported the results they were given.
