Health Dept. probing complaints after Beyonce birth - New York Daily News

Robert Sabo/New York Daily News

Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan's upper East side, where Beyonce delivered baby Blue Ivy Carter on Tuesday.

The state Health Department is investigating complaints that Lenox Hill Hospital coddled R&B diva Beyoncé to such an extent that other people were kept from seeing their newborns.

The state is required to look into any complaint of possible mistreatment at a hospital, and on Wednesday morning â€" two days after Beyoncé’s blessed delivery â€" the agency fielded more than one.

“We have received complaints,” said Peter Constantakes, a spokesman for the state Health Department. “Whenever we receive a complaint, we look into it. It’s not necessarily an investigation. It could be a review. Most likely in this case, it would be an investigation.”

He declined to discuss specifics of the complaints, but at least two families have told the Daily News that they weren’t able to visit newborns in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit because burly men who appeared to be security guards barred them from gaining access to that section of the hospital.

Beyoncé gave birth to a daughter, Blue Ivy, on Sunday after taking over several suites in the hospital, which is located on E. 77th St. on the upper East Side. Hospital officials say the singer and her rapper-mogul hubby, Jay Z, paid to reserve several “executive suites” in the hospital.

On Tuesday, Lenox Hill’s executive director, Frank Danza, said he ordered an internal probe into the complaints, admitting that certain unusual steps were taken to accommodate the famous couple, such as having security cameras covered up with tape.

Danza said additional security guards were brought in, but added that he has spoken with half of the dozen or so new parents who were at the hospital over the weekend and that none reported being blocked from seeing their newborns.

“They did communicate that they noticed some enhanced security, but they never felt restricted,” Danza told The News on Tuesday.

The state investigation could take some time.

Typically, inspectors review written hospital records that chronicle all activity of patients, doctors and nurses, and then make a site visit. They could also check hospital logbooks and security footage to determine which staffers were on duty, including nurses, in-house security and maintenance workers.

Employees could then be interviewed as inspectors attempt to get a better sense of what actually happened, and try to determine whether violations of hospital rules were made. If that is found to be the case, the agency would issue a so-called “statement of deficiencies.”

Punitive measures the state could take against the hospital would generally range from a warning not to repeat the violation, to a fine of several thousand dollars.

On Wednesday, Leah Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for 1199 SEIU â€" the union that represents many workers at the hospital â€" said that union officials were not aware of any investigation.

gsmith@nydailynews.com

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