LEWISTOWN, Pa. — A Mifflin County woman has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor after investigators claim she neglected to get treatment for her 15-year-old daughter's eating disorder, to the point where the girl suffered from "near-fatal" malnutrition.
Shelby Lynn Bailey, 38, of Lewistown, was charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children and a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person following an investigation that began in March, when her daughter was hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment of extreme malnutrition, according to Lewistown Borough Police.
Authorities claim there was sufficient cause to charge Bailey because there is no record of her attempting to get help for the girl over a span of three months, during which time the girl lost approximately 30 pounds -- dropping her weight to 57 pounds.
The girl had been hospitalized twice and spent six weeks at an inpatient treatment facility in 2022, police said. But between November 2022 and March 2023 -- when the girl was admitted to CHOP for the third time -- there is no record of any attempts by Bailey to get medical help for her daughter.
When questioned by police, Bailey allegedly said it was a constant battle to get her daughter to go anywhere, get her to eat, or to monitor her weight. She allegedly said she did not think the girl's weight loss was that drastic, because her daughter constantly dressed in baggy clothes.
She allegedly told an investigator, "Obviously, I was in the wrong. I know I should have done more," according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by Det. Mary C. Woods of the Lewistown Borough Police Department.
Police began investigating on March 7, when staff at CHOP contacted authorities to report her alleged malnourished condition. The girl allegedly weighed 57 pounds, and her treating physician categorized her condition as "near-fatal," according to police.
The investigation determined that the girl had previously been admitted to CHOP for treatment of malnutrition from May 23 to June 2 and from August 30 to September 14, 2022.
The girl had been previously diagnosed with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and had a history of gastroparesis and constipation, according to police.
When she was discharged from CHOP in September 2022, the girl weighed 90 pounds, police said. She then spent six weeks at Tower Behavioral Health for inpatient eating disorder treatment, and weighed approximately 86 pounds at her first physician visit after being discharged from the latter facility in October 2022, according to police.
On November 17, 2022, Shelby allegedly told the CHOP Adolescent Medicine team in a virtual appointment that her daughter weighed 84 pounds, police said.
The girl had no other doctor visits until March 2023, when she was admitted to CHOP for a third time, police said.
Due to the severe state of her condition, the girl was at risk of death due to cardiac dysfunction or electrolyte disturbance, as well as complications from bone marrow failure and renal injury, doctors told police.
Doctors told police they were not sure why the girl did not have any appointments scheduled with an outpatient provider between November 2022 and March 2023, because it had been documented that Baily was advised in a November 29, 2022 phone call to contact CHOP so the child could be re-admitted due to her dangerously low weight.
Bailey never contacted CHOP after that phone call, doctors claimed.
In fact, doctors said, the only contact between CHOP and Bailey noted on the girl's medical chart between November 2022 and March 2023 were phone calls that went unanswered or unreturned by Bailey, police said.
Doctors told police that the lack of medical care between November 2022 and March 2023 was "an absolute contributor" to the girl's severe malnourishment, which had progressed to the point where there was a loss of organ function and the extremely high risk of cognitive delay.
Her malnourishment altered the girl's body chemistry to the point where even very small amounts of sustenance shocked her body and brain and overstimulated her heart, doctors told police.
If the girl had not been admitted to CHOP on March 1, 2023, she likely would not have survived for more than other day or two, doctors told police. The girl was conscious but not alert for a week after her admission, police said.
When questioned by police, Bailey said she decided to take the girl to the hospital after three months when the girl fell the previous night, and seemed "very out of it."
Bailey told police she did not notice any change in the girl's personality, demeanor, or comprehension level prior to the fall, the complaint states.
A CHOP social worker told investigators that the girl was eligible for family based outpatient treatment, which was available to the family at no cost. Bailey was aware of the availability of treatment, but the family never participated in or followed up with any of the resources made available to them, police said.
The girl was released from CHOP and transferred to the Princeton Inpatient Eating Disorder Program on May 9, police said. It took the girl 10 weeks to become stable enough to be discharged to the other facility for continued care.
