A baby was recently surrendered to the first Safe Haven Baby Box ever installed in the United States, WHSV3 reported this week.
The first Safe Haven Baby Box was built in Woodburn, Indiana, in 2016 — the first of 260 that have since been installed across the country, according to the report.
“This surrender is extra special. This is where our vision became reality,” Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelsey said. “We are proud of our community being a leader in change, so that this mother in crisis would have an option of anonymity. It is an honor to have this mother trust us, and we know she loves her baby immensely.”
The infant is also the first to be surrendered to the Woodburn Fire Department location, eight years after its installation.
“It’s a feeling of excitement, it’s a feeling of pride, and it’s honoring the mission that Safe Haven Baby Boxes have put in place,” Fire Chief Joshua Hale said.
Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals that can be accessed from the inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside the box from its exterior. Once a baby is inside the baby box, the outside door locks, and the mother has time to leave before an alarm goes off alerting first responders or hospital staff to the child’s presence.
The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the baby is usually placed into state custody and is often adopted quickly.
“This box worked exactly as it was designed to. The box worked flawlessly. The fire department did exactly what they were trained to do. They had this baby in their arms in a matter of minutes,” Kelsey said.
