LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 28th Safe Haven Baby Box in Kentucky was installed at the Jeffersontown Fire and EMS station.
A blessing ceremony was held Monday. Safe Haven Baby Boxes are typically located at fire stations and hospitals. The life-saving resource allows parents to surrender a newborn anonymously.
"Firefighters pick up these babies in roughly two minutes," said Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes. "If a parent doesn't want or can't care for their newborn, this is a resource for them."
Baby boxes are climate-controlled, with heating and cooling to make sure an infant will be comfortable. Once a baby is put in the box, the exterior door locks and three silent alarms will alert first responders. Within five minutes, the baby will be attended to and taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Kelsey said babies are typically adopted within 30 to 45 days by "families who are signed up for foster care with the intention to adopt."
Three babies have been surrendered to baby boxes in Kentucky.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes started Indiana, where there are now more than 150 baby boxes.
Thirty-seven infants have been placed in a baby box since 2017, and over 130 surrenders have happened through calls to the National Safe Haven Baby Box Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1, which is available all day every day. The hotline provides counseling services to parents who may be unable or unwilling to care for their newborn.
For a link to the crisis line for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, click here.
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- New Albany fire station now home to Indiana's 99th Safe Haven Baby Box
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