Sustain LAist today!

Your monthly gift during our June member drive powers our local newsroom.
1,485 sustainers of 2,500 goal
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Thanks But No Thanks (Again) For OctoMom's Pro Bono Nurses

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Suleman_DrPhil.jpg
Suleman telling Dr. Phil in a televised interview how happy and relieved she was to be receiving the help he brokered for her from Angels in Waiting


Suleman telling Dr. Phil in a televised interview how happy and relieved she was to be receiving the help he brokered for her from Angels in Waiting
Nadya Suleman didn't like the idea to begin with: Non-profit Angels in Waiting would help out the mom of 14 by providing in-home care for her newborn octuplets and her six older children. What wasn't so appealing about that? Well, for starters, the child-care professionals weren't okay with Suleman's wish to have a camera crew in the home because of the increased health risk that would pose. But Suleman needed to show Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower that she had enough resources to care for the babies, so she used her new income to buy a home in La Habra and worked with TV therapy guru Dr. Phil to reach an agreement with the caregivers. Meanwhile, Dr. Phil helped raised funds to help the fledgling non-profit to be able to provide the services they offered.

Now that four of the eight babies are home, though, the deal is off. Suleman has fired the nurses who were helping in her home, "mostly because one filed a report against her with Child Protective Services, or CPS," according to the OC Register.

Jeffery Czech, Suleman's attorney told the paper the "nurse was concerned about the number of people at the La Habra house." Czech added that Suleman most likely wasn't comfortable with the level of scrutiny having in-home care meant: "I think it's more of an issue with trust between the mother and those taking care of her kids. If you can imagine being monitored by somebody (that) every little mistake you make may get you reported to CPS." Police in Whittier, where Suleman formerly resided, recently revealed that they and other child welfare officials had been to the family's home on several occasions in the months prior to the octuplets' birth.

Because she may be concerned about how this will make her look in the media, Suleman has scheduled to tape yet another Dr. Phil appearance to set the record straight. Currently nurses from Kaiser as well as two nannies Suleman is paying for are helping the ten kids, as the four remaining octuplets remain hospitalized in order for them to build up strength.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today