Child care facility re-opens in wake of toddler's death

WASILLA — A local child care facility re-opened Oct. 1 following a state investigation into fatal injuries suffered by a toddler there last month.

Nineteen-month-old Faith Phillips was playing on a toy house Sept. 6 when she put her head through a small window of the apparatus and apparently slipped and strangled herself. She died of her injuries Sept. 9.

After the incident, the state Department of Health and Social Services closed Illuminations Childcare and Educational Center on Knik-Goose Bay Road while the agency investigated. That investigation and subsequent response from the center led to the facility re-opening this month, Illuminations owner Brenda Fuller said.

In her first public response to the death, Fuller issued a statement Wednesday expressing condolences for Phillips’ family.

“Words cannot even begin to express their sorrow,” she says. “Words, however kind, cannot mend their heartache; but those who care and share in their loss wish them comfort and peace of mind.”

That comfort may be a long time coming for Faith’s parents, 19-year-old Brittany Phillips and her fiancé Andrew Stokes, said KeriAnn Brady, an Anchorage attorney representing Brittany Phillips.

When the news of the tragic accident broke, “every single parent out there took a deep breath and went, ‘wow, that could be me,’” Brady said. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare.”

Knowing that Illuminations has re-opened is concerning to Faith’s family, Brady said, but Brittany’s main focus since the death of her daughter is to make sure another family doesn’t have to go through the same tragedy.

“One of Brittany’s primary concerns was that she never wants anyone to go through what she’s going through,” Brady said. “I think she was very relieved when (Illuminations) was closed down, but frankly, it’s difficult for us because we don’t know what the remedial measures were that the state required (for the center to re-open).”

Brittany Phillips has been talking to local state lawmakers as well, Brady said. She would like state regulations for child care centers to require those who care for children be trained in pediatric CPR. Currently, the law requires one staffer to have such training.

At Illuminations, most staff members have CPR training, Fuller says in her statement. But she doesn’t say how many of those staff also are trained for pediatric CPR. Explaining that training and her level of staffing were two of the reasons Fuller said she decided to make a statement.

“There have been numerous rumors and accusations by the public regarding the incident that occurred on Sept. 6, 2012, at Illuminations,” she wrote. “In response to those, Illuminations wants to clear up the record.”

Fuller says 14 of her 17 employees were on site at the time of Faith’s accident, and that 11 of those have CPR training.

“There were CPR-certified caregivers who were outside on the playground when this incident occurred and CPR was initiated by Illuminations staff before paramedics arrived,” Fuller says.

The issue of CPR response isn’t quite that clear, however, said Kevin Brady, husband of KeriAnn Brady and an attorney with her law office. Although Fuller says 11 staff on site had CPR training, Kevin Brady said apparently only one of them was trained in pediatric CPR, and that person was reportedly on a break when Faith was discovered.

“Brittany believes there was some sort of delay (in medical response) because that person was on break,” he said, adding an overall lack of supervision also is concerning. “That’s something one has to consider under the circumstances. It’s pretty clear — people take their kids to day care entrusting they’re going to have (children’s) best interests at heart. There’s something profoundly disturbing dropping your child off at day care and the child leaves there basically brain dead.”

Children on site that day were supervised, Fuller says in her statement.

“No children during this case, or ever, have been left outside unattended for any amount of time,” she says.

That would seem to be contrary to some of Illumination’s history with the state Department of Health and Human Services, which fined the day care $500 in 2011 for an incident where a child had wondered off the property and became stuck in some mud.

Although there may have been plenty of staff on duty at the time of Faith’s fatal accident, her mother believes potential for lack of supervision has to be considered, KeriAnn Brady said.

“She clearly doesn’t think they did a good job of supervision and that’s part of what contributed to what happened,” KeriAnn Brady said.

Officials at the state Department of Health and Social Services were not in the office Thursday in observance of Alaska Day and couldn’t be reached for comment. In her statement, Fuller says that the state’s investigation “determined that there were no ongoing health and safety concerns for the children attending Illuminations. Consequently, the state reinstated Illuminations’ license without any restrictions and the facility is presently operating and providing child care services for families in the Mat-Su Valley.”

When contacted Thursday, Fuller expressed empathy for Faith’s family and said the accident also has been difficult for Illuminations staff.

“It’s hard on the staff, of course,” she said. “We are all really close to the children here.”

She also said response from her clients has been mixed. She appreciates those who have expressed support, but understands not everyone feels that way.

“You have your supportive ones and your unsupportive ones,” Fuller said.

While the state has completed its investigation, the Wasilla Police Department’s probe into the death is still open, chief Gene Belden said. That’s because a state pathologist’s report is still not in. All the evidence, however, points to the child’s death as a “tragic accident,” Belden said.

He also confirmed that his department has video surveillance tapes from Illuminations from that day and has taken custody of the playground equipment involved. Viewing all that evidence, Belden said he believes the incident was “a bad accident, which is pretty much what we’ve found out.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.