Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer and Monica Kelsey, founder of SHBB, in front of the newly-installed Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station 1 at 2222 North Main Street CREDIT RICHARD SHANK
By Richard Shank
Hutchinson achieved a first in Kansas to participate in the Safe Haven Baby Box (SHBB) program with a Thursday morning launch at Fire Station Number 1 at 2222 North Main Street.
A statement on the SHBB website explains the program: “Safe Haven Baby Boxes offer a compassionate and secure option for mothers in crisis who are unable to care for their newborns. Designed with innovative safety features and installed on the exterior walls of fire stations and hospitals, each box ensures infants’ safe and anonymous surrender. The exterior door locks automatically when a newborn is placed inside, and an interior door allows medical personnel to promptly and securely retrieve the baby, ensuring immediate care and protection.”
Motorists driving past Fire Station 1 adjacent to the Kansas State Fairgrounds may notice a sign on the west side of the building stating “Safe Haven Baby Box Drop Off.” A door opens by pushing a single button, and a box inside becomes visible. The container is large enough to hold an infant from newborn to 60 days of age. After placing the baby in the box and closing the door, alarms are activated inside, and personnel will respond in a few seconds or minutes.
Monica Kelsey, who was abandoned as a baby in 1973, established SHBB in 2016 in Woodbury, Indiana, and this week, she traveled to Hutchinson to help launch the nation’s 294th Baby Box Program. In an impassioned speech to an audience of 40, Kelsey said some people should not be parents and acknowledged an abandoned and deceased baby is found every three days in the United States.
“We can hope the Baby Box is never used, but we are finding an increased need for this service,” Kelsey said. “It allows the mother anonymity, and there are no cameras on-site to photograph the baby being left.”
Kelsey is crisscrossing the nation this week to speak at launches of other Baby Box programs and was airborne for Texas Thursday afternoon for another announcement on Friday.
Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer said the funds needed to establish the program were raised from private sources and expressed special thanks to the Children’s Emergency Shelter for its contribution and to Wiens Construction for contributing labor costs for building modifications to the fire station and providing space for necessary equipment. He said that if and when funds are available, he would like to add a Safe Haven Baby Box to another fire station in the city.
“No taxpayer funds were used to establish this program,” Beer said. “All fire department employees were trained on the Baby Box program in advance of the Thursday launch.
Beer also pointed out that fire department personnel are trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and will be available to treat and care for the babies if needed.
Mayor Greg Fast, who attended the news conference, said the implementation of the Baby Box program in Hutchinson reaffirms the Hutchinson Fire Department’s leadership in implementing new and innovative programs to serve the community.
As the news conference was about to conclude, the fire whistle blew, and the doors opened. The station crew departed to respond to an emergency in Salt City,
