State regulators temporarily closed a family child-care facility in Baxter, Minn., on Tuesday following the death of a 3-month-old girl and a complaint that the providers failed to follow safety requirements to reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant deaths.
Brooklyn Tramm died Oct. 22 at the family day care operated by Kimberly and Jerry Opay. The cause of death remains under investigation, said Lori Hedican, chief investigator for the Ramsey County medical examiner's office, which handles autopsies in Crow Wing and several other rural Minnesota counties.
The death is the fourth to occur in a licensed Minnesota child-care facility this year, said Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She declined to provide further details pending an investigation by Baxter police and then a licensing investigation by inspectors with Crow Wing County.
The Tramms had taken their daughter to a doctor earlier in the week for an X-ray and other tests after the Opays called and notified them that the girl had cold symptoms and labored breathing, said Jonathan Tramm, Brooklyn's father. They went home with basic instructions to keep the girl's nose and airway as clear as possible.
"That's what is so hard," Tramm said. "We had her in there, got her checked out, and two days later we got another call."
The Tramms' daughter died shortly after being put down for a nap, he said.
State records show no other licensing actions at the Opay child-care operation since at least July 2010. Kimberley Opay said Wednesday morning that she couldn't discuss the incident because of state licensing rules.
Deaths in child care were occurring in Minnesota at a rate of 10 or more per year, mostly in licensed homes rather than large day-care centers, until public attention in 2012 resulted in a crackdown by licensing officials on safety oversights. Many of the prior infant deaths were traced to poor supervision or inappropriate sleep positions, such as leaving infants on their stomachs or placing them on soft surfaces or with loose blankets or toys that could present suffocation hazards.
