Blessing And Dedication Held For Franciscan Health Crawfordsville Baby Box

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana - Today, Franciscan Health held a blessing and dedication for a Safe Haven Baby Box at its Crawfordsville campus. The device allows mothers in crisis to safely and anonymously surrender their infant to hospital staff. 

"We are so proud to have this Safe Haven Baby Box available to the community," said Terry Klein, chief operating officer, Franciscan Health Crawfordsville. "This will provide an anonymous way for a woman to surrender her child, knowing they'll be safe and immediately cared for. That is the epitome of one of our organization's values: respect for life."

Indiana's Safe Haven Law enables a person to surrender an infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution. The Safe Haven Baby Box is the last resort for women in crisis. It's heated and air-conditioned with its own ventilation. When a baby is placed in the box, a silent alarm will sound so that staff can immediately tend to the baby.

The baby box at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville, located at 1710 Lafayette Road, Crawfordsville, Indiana, is discreetly located on the Southside of the hospital. 

This is the third Safe Haven Baby Box funded by Franciscan Health Foundation and installed in a Franciscan Health hospital within Western Indiana. The installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box was made possible by generous donations from local individuals and organizations including Crosspoint Fellowship. 

"We want to give special thanks to all of the local individuals and businesses who, through their compassion and support, have provided the resources to purchase and install the Safe Haven Baby Box here at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville. Pastor Cregger of Crosspoint Fellowship is a great example of the generosity we've seen in this community. He went above and beyond in getting his church involved in fundraising for this project," commented Sandy Howarth, executive director of the Franciscan Health Foundation in Western Indiana.

"We shared with our church the need and the benefits of having a baby box in our community. We then asked for a special offering to make it a reality," said Pastor Chris Cregger and his wife, Megan Cregger. "At Crosspoint, we believe every generation matters to God. We are passionate about serving God and loving people. We want families to know that as a church we are here to support them through any situation. I'm honored and humbled to pastor an amazing church that is always willing and excited to jump into action to support our community. "To Franciscan Health, Pastor Cregger said, "Thank you for the opportunity to help support our community through this project."

Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box Inc. was inspired to create her organization because of her own life experience. Kelsey's biological mother became pregnant after a rape and, after her birth, abandoned her at a hospital. She was adopted and says today her parents are her biggest supporters. "I can tell you every child is wanted by someone," she said. "This allows for any mother in this community 100 percent anonymity. There is no shame. There is no blaming," said Kelsey. This Safe Haven Baby Box will be the 95th baby box in the country and the 77th in the state of Indiana. 

Kelsey has worked to educate others on the Safe Haven Law and introduce the use of the baby boxes. So far, she's brought the boxes to five states – Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Arkansas - and she has the goal of making the baby boxes legal in all 50 states by the year 2025. She said that her organization is working to spread the word to the public about the baby boxes through a billboard campaign and social media.

For more information about Safe Haven Baby Box locations or to speak to a licensed counselor, call the National Safe Haven hotline at 866-99BABY1 (866-992-2291).