Central Fire Station in Old Town Slidell, Louisiana will be home to the state's first Safe Haven Baby Box, WWL-TV New Orleans reported.
Tammany Fire District 1 Chief Chris Kaufman said the baby box will be placed in front of the fire station.
“I hope you don't put young children in this box,” Kaufman said. “But even if there’s one mother who says I can’t do it, they have a place.”
baby box created To prevent parents from leaving their newborn babies in dangerous environments that could lead to death. Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators that are often built into the exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals and can be accessed from inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally keep their newborns indoors. Once the baby is in the baby box, the outer door is locked and the mother has time to leave before an alarm sounds to alert emergency responders and hospital staff to the child's presence.
The baby will then be immediately removed and sent to the hospital for health checks. From there, the infant is usually placed in state custody and is often immediately adopted.
According to the report, Slidell City Councilman Trey Brownfield said the Baby Box fundraising campaign was started in 2015 after authorities discovered the remains of a newborn baby in a dumpster at a Slidell apartment complex. Ta.
“You always see it on the news and it's very disheartening to hear about babies being found on the side of the road, babies being found everywhere. But in Slidell, there are alternatives,” Brownfield said. .
The state's Safe Haven law allows parents to legally relinquish custody of a newborn baby up to 60 days old and surrender the infant to a designated emergency facility, such as a hospital, fire station or police station, without fear of prosecution. I admit that.
This year, the state Legislature amended the state's safe haven law to allow the use of baby boxes in these locations, the report said.
Inside the box is an orange resource bag with information on how at-risk parents can access mental health counseling.
“This is an opportunity to keep the baby safe and alive,” Brownfield said.
As of early October, organizers had raised about 10% of the $22,000 needed to purchase the baby boxes. Organizers hope the baby boxes will be installed by the end of the year.
