EDGEWOOD, N.M. (KRQE) – The Town of Edgewood has changed course and will no longer create a place where parents who can’t care for their newborns can surrender them.
The town was exploring options to install a Safe Haven Baby Box, however, it realized it did not have an area suitable for installation.
“We have found that local healthcare facilities are not open and staffed 24 hours per day. Local fire and law enforcement agencies have limited staffing, leading them to have concerns about the availability of first responders to be on-site 24/7,” Edgewood Community Liaison Linda Burke wrote in an email to KRQE.
Burke explained fire stations and police stations are available for in-person infant surrender, if needed. Under New Mexico’s Safe Haven law, infants 90 days of age or less can be handed to an authorized provider, such as hospitals, fire stations, or law enforcement agencies.
“The Town of Edgewood will be researching other resources and services that may be in our area and making that information available on our town website in the near future,” Burke stated.
The town also informed the $10,000 grant issuer that it is unable to use the funds for a baby box at this time.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes have been installed in several New Mexico communities and in places across the country. When a newborn is placed inside the box, silent alarms alert first responders. The child is then attended to in under five minutes and taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
At the time of this publication, New Mexico is home to nine baby boxes. A list of them can be found below:
- Hobbs Fire Station #1, 301 E White St, Hobbs, NM 88240
- Carlsbad Fire Department Station #1, 401 S Halagueno St., Carlsbad, NM, 88220.
- Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, 669 N Scenic Dr., Alamogordo, NM, 88310
- Roswell Fire Station, 200 S Richardson Ave., Roswell, NM, 88203
- Belen Fire Department, 121 South 5th St., Belen, NM 87002
- Grants Fire & Rescue, 620 W High St., Grants, NM 87020
- Española Fire Department, 806 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Rd., Española, NM 87532
- Farmington Fire Department, 3800 English Rd., Farmington, NM 87402
- Bloomfield Fire Department, 911 N 1st St., Bloomfield, NM 87413
