WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. – Angie Birk was just one month into her new job as a nurse at KVC Academy – Edgewood in Webster Groves.
“She was a good soul. She was always spunky, very happy, positive with life,” Kathy Andrews, Birk’s mother, said.
Andrews says Angie was excited about her new job helping kids at the school for troubled youth. But on March 15, she suffered fatal injuries. OSHA inspectors wrote, “An accidental collision occurred between a client and nurse while the client was de-escalating from disruptive behaviors.”
Angie spent six days in the hospital before she died.
“She never woke up. I was never able to have that closure to say goodbye to her,” Andrews said.
Webster Groves Police Department has denied requests for more information about Angie’s death because it involves a juvenile. After attempts to track down information regarding an OSHA investigation, FOX 2 News called their regional office. We uncovered a letter that OSHA sent to KVC Missouri in July. It inspected the school shortly after Angie’s death.
The letter says, “conditions that led to the fatal incident were not related to workplace violence” but “the inspection revealed that employees may be exposed to hazards associated with workplace violence.”
OSHA decided not to issue a citation for failing to protect employees, but it did offer up what it called “opportunities” to decrease employee risk. Those include, “timely notification to employees of a client suffering from aggressive behaviors,” more consistent “reporting and documentation of violent behaviors by clients,” and “de-escalation improvements” to reduce contact with clients during violent behaviors.
Angie’s sister, Molly Browne, says Angie was not trained well enough to work in that type of environment.
“As far as working with children with special needs, I’m pretty sure there is extensive training that needs to be had,” Browne said.
KVC Missouri President Lindsey Stephenson declined an on camera interview but sent us the following statement:
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague, and our entire staff and school community share in the grief felt by their family and friends during this difficult time. This was an unfortunate accidental collision between two people. We immediately alerted law enforcement and the federal agency OSHA and fully complied with their investigations. These external oversight groups concluded that it was a tragic accident and not the result of any intentional harm. Neither OSHA nor the police department issued any citations. KVC regularly reviews our programs, policies and procedures to enhance safety and wellbeing for staff, children and families.
Lindsey Stephenson, KVC Missouri president
“It’s eaten at us for quite some time. Something needed to be done. My daughter’s life mattered and the dangers are that it could’ve happened to anyone. I never want anybody to feel the way I felt about losing a child,” Andrews said.
Andrews and Browne are speaking up as KVC Missouri looks to build a new behavioral health hospital for kids at its Webster Groves property. The property would need to be rezoned, and the proposal is currently up for debate with Webster Groves officials.
