Toddler Named Unakite Thirteen Hotel Can’t Get Health Insurance Or Childcare
A man from Nebraska has been fighting to get a valid birth certificate and Social Security number for his two-year-old daughter, Caroline, after she was not approved for Medicaid. It has been a challenge because her name was incorrectly listed as “Unakite Thirteen Hotel.”
A few weeks ago, Jason Kilburn took his daughter Caroline to see a pediatrician because she had developed a fever and started vomiting. However, the cost for the doctor’s visit was about $700.
Without her legal documents, Kilburn has been unable to get any essential services for her, including health insurance and childcare. They all require a Social Security number to confirm her identity.
“It really sucks to sit here and watch her suffer when there’s healthcare out there that I can’t get because of this,” Kilburn said.
Caroline was born in November 2022 in a house in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her mother wanted to place her with another family and immediately relinquished custody to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Caroline was taken in by foster parents from Nebraska.
Kilburn and Caroline’s birth mother had dated on and off for several years. At the time of Caroline’s birth, they were not together. He found out about Caroline after she was born.
Once he took a DNA test proving that he was the father, he was able to obtain custody rights. According to an attorney for Kilburn, the mother faces allegations of neglect and drug problems. She has no custody rights. Their attempts to contact her have been unsuccessful.
While gathering basic paperwork for his daughter, Kilburn learned that Caroline was never granted a birth certificate.
She only had a certificate of live birth, which is an unofficial document that hospitals submit to start the process of producing government-issued birth certificates.
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To make matters even more complicated, the certificate of live birth reportedly listed a computer-generated name: Unakite Thirteen Hotel.
Kilburn contacted CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs, the hospital in Iowa that issued the document. However, he received little guidance on what his next steps should be.
He is now working with an attorney based in Omaha to resolve the matter. Once they can finally get an actual birth certificate, Caroline’s full legal name will be Caroline Elizabeth Kilburn.
More About:Human Interest