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GATESVILLE – Nearly two years after becoming operational, the Safe Haven Baby Box located at the Gates County Rescue & EMS building is facing a challenge.

That challenge, however, isn’t from a disgruntled parent or adoption advocacy groups, but rather in the wording of a piece of legislation currently making its way through the North Carolina General Assembly.

House Bill 139 (an act to allow newborn safety device installation in qualified establishments) has passed through the NC House of Representatives and is now under consideration in the NC Senate.

Kyle Truman, the pastor of Hope Fellowship Church in Gates County and one of the main supporters of the Baby Box locally, said the overall intent of House Bill 139 is good, with one lone exception.

On page two of the five-page proposed legislation, the bill defines a qualified establishment where a Baby Box can be installed as a “physical building of an emergency department, a fire department, or a rescue or emergency medical services squad that is staffed on-site 24 hours per day by an emergency medical technician or other emergency health care provider.”

Truman said he and others are concerned over the use of the word “on-site.”

“As most of us know there is likely not a fire station or EMS station in the country that is staffed on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Truman said. “When a call comes in, firefighters and medics leave to answer the call. That doesn’t mean they are out of the building all day, just when they are answering a call.”

However, as Truman noted, the in-operation design of the Safe Haven Baby Box – the one locally as well as for all such devices installed across the nation – is monitored by a live person, 24/7, via an alarm system.

The one in Gates County was installed with multiple alarms in the device which alert first responders that a baby has been surrendered. Those alarms are tested weekly to ensure there will be no failures.

When a baby is dropped off, the parent opens the exterior door to the Baby Box, which triggers an alarm and sends a call to 911 Dispatch. The infant is placed in a medical bassinet that stays in the box at all times. A sensor located on the inside of the box triggers a second 911 Dispatch call. The exterior door automatically locks upon placement of a newborn.

Truman noted if there are EMT personnel inside the building at the time a baby is surrendered, they immediately respond.

“If our units and personnel are away from the station, our 911 communications center will dispatch law enforcement to our station in the event of Baby Box alarm activation,” he said. “This is why the alarm is set up like it is. No baby has ever been in a Baby Box longer than four minutes and 20 seconds. This is how fast the alarms work.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box is state-of-the-art. It is a climate-controlled safety device provided under a state’s Safe Haven Law. The installation of the box occurs on the exterior wall of a firehouse, EMS agency, or hospital.

An interior door allows an emergency responder to secure the surrendered newborn. Evaluation of the infant begins immediately, including a medical examination at the hospital. After the baby is given a clean bill of health at the hospital, the child will go into the custody of the local Department of Social Services.

In North Carolina, the law allows a baby no more than 30 days old to be surrendered, providing a safe alternative for a parent who, in a crisis or in desperation, may physically abandon or harm their child.

“There are strict protocols in place for these boxes that we have followed since we first installed ours nearly two years ago,” Truman stated. “Before ours became operational, Safe Haven Baby Box staff trained our first responders on the Safe Haven Law and how to handle safe surrenders.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box located at Gates County Rescue and EMS became operational on Sept. 23, 2023. It was solely funded by individual citizens from Gates County, organizations, and churches. There were no public tax dollars spent on this box.

“Our Baby Box follows all other requirements as spelled out in House Bill 139,” Truman noted. “We have no problem with this legislation other than the ‘on-site’ wording. The North Carolina Association of District Attorneys wanted the facility manned 24 hours or it will be ineligible to have a baby box.”

Truman stressed that there is not a single state in America, which allows Baby Boxes, that has this type of language in its code.

“If this bill doesn’t get amended, we will be forced to shut down our Baby Box,” Truman said.

He is asking the public to contact District 1 State Senator Bobby Hanig at Bobby.Hanig@ncleg.gov or 919-715-8293 and urge him to ask for the deletion of the ‘on-site’ wording in House Bill 139.