Family wants answers, OSHA letter inconsistent in death of nurse at Missouri school for troubled youth

A family has been left grieving and without answers after the death of a school nurse from an incident fatuously described by authorities as an “accidental collision” between two people.

At the same time a community has been suddenly and unexpectedly forced to confront dangers in their residential town that have been lurking under the surface and now threaten to become unmanageable.

Angie Birk had just graduated from nursing school, with one month on her new job as nurse at KVC Academy, a school for “young people struggling with learning, mental health challenges or substance use disorders” in Webster Groves, Missouri, when she died.

The accident happened on Mar. 15 when a student, whom authorities have declined to identify because of the student’s age, collided with Birk at the door of a restroom when the student was in an agitated state, reported the Kirkwood Webster Times.  

Both fell, and the student, who is much larger than the slightly built nurse, toppled on top of Birk, whose head then struck the floor, according to the account of the incident shared with the Times by Birk’s family.  

“In any case where there’s a head injury, they (the victim) shouldn’t be moved, period. She said that she wasn’t feeling well and then she vomited,” Molly Browne, Birk’s sister told the Times. “After that, Angie was unable to make any words make sense. Her speech became very impaired, and that’s when the staff noticed that there was some blood coming out of her mouth.”  

Birk was rushed to the hospital with a brain bleed and “died six days later from cranial cerebral blunt trauma,” said the Times.   

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation of the incident disclosed conflicting findings that at least hinted at the inadequacy of training and preparation by KVC to prevent and mitigate such accidents. 

The OSHA letter obtained by local Fox News 2 in Saint Louis described the accident as “an accidental collision [that] occurred between a client and nurse while the client was de-escalating from disruptive behaviors.” 

The letter said that “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 declined to formally cite KVC but noted “opportunities” to decrease employee risk.  

Those opportunities 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, said the local station.  

KVC’s spokesperson Jenny Kutz told the Times that the facility has a “rigorous, comprehensive orientation and training protocol” for all employees.  

But the family faults “the aides and the administration as well” for Birk’s death, asserting that the video that shows the accident was “altered.” After briefly showing the nurse sitting up after the accident, the video turns into an empty hallway video, said Browne.  

“It was wrongful death,” Browne told the Times. “She was, unfortunately, a product of mistraining, and that lies in the fault of KVC.” 

To add to the questions about the incident, it wasn’t until the facility asked for rezoning in August so that it could build a mental health hospital at KVC that Birk’s death was first disclosed publicly. 

A community resident and Webster Groves Police both disclosed Birk’s death during a public meeting to talk about the proposed rezoning. The police and KVC agreed that the incident wasn’t disclosed to the community previously because it involved a minor, said the Times.  

For Birk’s family, the explanation isn’t good enough. 

“We do not blame the child in any way, shape or form. It hurts our heart to know that they also have to deal with this situation,” she said. “The school failed that student, big time. It was not a malicious act on this child’s part; she was only expressing herself the way she is mentally capable of doing.” 

It’s a point that’s not lost on the community as residents ponder the zoning variance requested by the school for a town that perhaps isn’t big enough to host the KVC Academy, let alone a new hospital attached to it. 

The local Fox News affiliate reports that Webster Groves police have had 84 calls to the school since October 2022.  

It’s one of the strongest indicators why mental health facilities, whether set in hospitals or schools, aren’t typically built in residential communities, such as Webster Groves.  

“Being a physician myself and practicing numerous different medical facilities both in St. Louis and around the country, the general theme with a lot of them is that they’re generally not situated in the middle of residential communities and for good reason,” said Webster Groves resident Jared Cohen, a physician and Air Force veteran, according to Fox.  

It was Cohen who first disclosed Birk’s death in the public zoning meeting discussing the hospital. 

“This incident highlights the level of inherent risk associated with these types of facilities,” he said about the nurse’s death, reported the Times.  

According to her family, Birk paid the ultimate price for others not understanding the risks associated with the school.  

“We want people to know and realize the danger there, and that Angie’s life mattered,” Birk’s mother told the Times.