Police are investigating after the body of a baby girl was found at a southeastern Idaho hospital in a box meant for people to anonymously give up a newborn.
Police officers in Blackfoot, Idaho responded to a report of a deceased infant left in the Safe Haven Baby Box at Grove Creek Medical Center on October 13.
Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said in a social media post Monday that hospital staff responded within one minute to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box.
But staff were shocked after they quickly realized that the infant had died before being placed inside.
We are heartbroken, Kelsey said. Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed.
Police are investigating after the body of a baby girl was found at a southeastern Idaho hospital in a box meant for people to anonymously give up a newborn
Safe Haven Baby Boxes equipped at fire departments and hospitals are meant to provide a safe and anonymous way to surrender a newborn
Safe Haven Baby Box at Knoxville fire station. Pictured: Police officer and doll to show what the inside of the box looks like
Idaho law only allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy.
The organization and hospital staff are working with police investigators, officials said. The baby had been wrapped in a blanket, and the placenta was still attached, Kelsey said.
Grove Creek Medical Center officials said in a social media post Monday that staff members gave their all in a heartbreaking situation.
Kelsey, who herself was abandoned after birth in 1973, launched Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana in 2016.
The boxes equipped at fire departments and hospitals are meant to provide a safe and anonymous way to surrender a newborn.
The medical-grade boxes are installed in the exterior wall of the building. An exterior door automatically locks when a newborn is placed inside, and a medical staff member opens an interior door to secure the baby.
Boxes are available in more than a dozen states. Since 2017, 52 infants have been surrendered at the organizations baby box locations, Kelsey said.
She said Safe Haven Baby Boxes will continue to educate people about how the program works.
Founder, Monica Kelsey, started Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc. after learning she was abandoned as an infant and after seeing a "Baby Box" in operation at a church, in Cape Town, South Africa. She has made it her personal mission to educate others on the Safe Haven Law and to do whatever it takes to save the lives of innocent babies from being abandoned