LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A newborn baby is safe after he or she was placed inside a baby box at a fire station in Seymour.
The organization Safe Haven Baby Boxes said the Seymour Fire Department was alerted Thursday after the infant was surrendered.
"The Seymour Fire Department was able to retrieve the newborn within 60 seconds of the parent placing the newborn in our baby box," said Monica Kelsey, founder & CEO Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
The baby boxes are climate-controlled, and a silent alarm notifies the fire department when the door closes.
"This newborn received immediate medical care and was placed in an ambulance and taken to the most appropriate hospital," Kelsey said.
As founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Kelsey has a very personal connection.
"I was abandoned as an infant, two hours after my birth mom gave birth to me," she said. "And I look at my life and how I was saved so that I may save others."
As a result, she believes the baby boxes are saving lives across the state.
"We were averaging two to three babies dumped in our state every year," Kelsey said. "Most of them found dead. We haven't had that since we launched."
But there have been several newborns "surrendered" at designated safe havens like the one at the Seymour Fire Department.
"This was the fifth time a baby box that's been used in the state of Indiana in the last 24 months," Kelsey said. "The boxes are working," she said. "The law is working in our state."
The Safe Haven Law in Indiana is in place to provide a safe way to surrender healthy newborns without fear of criminal prosecution. The Seymour box is one of 21 active baby boxes in the state, and for that, city officials are praising a college student.
Last year, as part of a high school senior project, Hunter Wart raised $10,000 to purchase the baby box at the Seymour firehouse.
"I was actually in class and my mom texted me," Wart said.
After getting a call from Kelsey, Kwasniewski was excited to share the news with her son.
"And then she told me that a baby had been dropped off here in Seymour," Wart said.
If you have questions or concerns about the Safe Haven Baby Box program, you can call 1866-99BABY1.
For a list of all Safe Haven Baby Box locations, click here.
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