Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, shows the indoor side of the baby box in Station 1. Firefighter Jacob Younger finishes installing the signs for the Safe Haven Baby Box drop off at Station 1. 

The first Safe Haven Baby Box in the state of Kansas was blessed Thursday morning in Reno County at Hutchinson Fire Department Station 1, 2222 N. Main. Safe Haven Baby Boxes are a safe and anonymous alternative to surrendering an infant and offers a secure and compassionate option for parents in crisis.

Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said during the press conference, “when we get a baby in the box, two lives are saved,” the infant and the mother’s lives. Kesley, a retired medic and firefighter, is so passionate about baby boxes because she herself was abandoned two hours after birth by her 17-year-old mother who had been brutally raped in 1972. “I stand on the front lines of this ministry as one of these kids that wasn’t lovingly and safely, legally and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box by a parent that wanted me. But this is my legacy, and I am their voice,” said Kelsey, “and I want to walk with these moms as they choose something safe for their child and I will forever walk with these kids and show them their worth.”

A collaborative effort between Fire Chief Steven Beer and Chris Cooper, Security Director at Hutchinson Regional Healthcare Systems, got the project going last year. Soon after planning began, they received their first donation of $25,000. Chief Beer thanked Wiens & Company Construction who donated their time and labor to install the baby box. He also thanked all the community members who reached out to him and sent in donations in support of the baby box project.  Chief Beer said they have some funding left from this project that they will be putting toward their fund-raising efforts for a second baby box to be installed in Fire Station 3, 100 East Avenue E, in the south part of Hutchinson.

A test demonstration of the Safe Haven Baby Box was held at the station as Kelsey placed a “pretend infant” in the basinet. When the Safe Haven Baby Box door is opened, located on the northwest side of the fire station, the baby can be placed in the box that is in a climate-controlled area, and the parent can pick up an orange packed filled with information and resources. The mother can also receive free, anonymous health care to help with care after the birth, if they contact the Safe Haven Baby Box officials. No video cameras are located at the baby box, preserving the anonymity of the person leaving the child. House Bill 2024 was passed in 2023, permitting the installation of such safety boxes or cradles at both fire and police stations in Kansas. 

Monica Kelsey shows how the basinet is taken out of the box with the infant to be taken to a waiting ambulance.Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer talks to people in attendance during the press conference Thursday.Safe Haven Baby Box CEO and founder Monica Kelsey speaks during the press conference.911 Director Kevin Irwin talks about the staff training and the addition of protocols to notify local officials. Media, local officials and emergency personnel came to the press conference Thursday at Station 1. The Safe Haven Baby Box is located on the northwest side of Fire Station 1, 2222 N. Main Street in Hutchinson.

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization provides a confidential National Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1. Since 2017, 54 infants have been safely and legally surrendered in a Baby Box. The National Safe Haven Crisis line has assisted with over 150 handoff surrenders. Each year the numbers increase with more baby boxes available across the country. Surrendered infants are adopted by families who have registered as foster to adopt. The local department of family services coordinates the adoption process.

“This box is now available to women in this community and beyond. The box offers no shame, no blame and no names,” said Kelsey, “and isn’t it a blessing that we are standing at a fire house blessing a box in the wall so that we don’t have to stand in a cemetery and bless a box going in the ground.”

Donations for the Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Station 3 can be brought to any of the Hutchinson Fire Stations, to the City of Hutchinson office, or online at the Hutchinson Regional Medical Foundation at https://www.hutchregional.com/foundation/make-a-donation/.

For more information contact Monica at [email protected]

Once the infant has been placed in the box, it can only be taken out by medical personnel inside the fire station. Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, talks to the media after the press conference.