OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi State Department of Health said Thursday that it has suspended a Lafayette County childcare facility’s license to care for infants after an 8-week-old baby died.
Mother Goose of Oxford, Inc. “has been determined to constitute a substantial hazard to the health and safety of infants entrusted to and cared for by said facility,” according to an order signed by State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs.
The order means the facility must immediately stop providing care for infants, according to a Health Department statement. The department did not say when the death occurred.
Ray Hill, attorney for Mother Goose, said he couldn’t comment on the baby’s death because of privacy issues. However, he said the child’s family is “first and foremost” on the minds of Mother Goose’s childcare providers.
“Our heart goes out to the family,” Hill said in a phone interview. “We’re devastated.”
Although the facility’s infant license has been suspended, the daycare is still licensed to care for children between 12 months old and kindergarten-aged, Hill said. It was open for business Thursday, when the Health Department made its announcement.
“Rest assured, once the facts come to light, our license will be back in full standing as it relates to infants,” Hill said. “We’re entitled to due process.”
Hill said Mother Goose is a family business that is 42 years old.
“These are good people who run a great business and really care about children,” he said.
Oxford police are investigating.
The Health Department expects to receive a full report by Monday, officials said.
Mother Goose of Oxford was licensed in 1999 and has not been fined since, according to the Health Department. The facility passed its last inspection in October pending the receipt of documents.
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