Kern Medical and Safe Surrender Coalition Celebrate Safely Surrendered Baby Awareness Month
- Category: Press Release
- Posted On:
- Written By: Kern Medical
What:
Kern Medical and the Kern County Safe Surrender Coalition will hold a press conference at Kern Medical, 1700 Mt. Vernon Avenue, on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate February as the newly proclaimed Safely Surrendered Baby Awareness Month and the men and women who continue to make this law possible.
For most people, the birth of a child is a happy occasion celebrated with family and friends. But for some women, childbirth becomes a crisis – and the decisions made following an infant’s birth can be a matter of life or death for the child. The Safely Surrendered Baby Law responds to the situation of newborn infant deaths due to abandonment in unsafe locations. First signed into law in January 2001, the Safely Surrendered Baby Law became permanent in January 2006. The law’s intent is to save the lives of newborn infants at risk of abandonment by encouraging parents or persons with lawful custody to safely surrender the infant within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked. The law exists so that these infants will not be harmed because the mother abandons them, or fails to provide them with care, sometimes leaving them to die.
57 babies have been safely surrendered in Kern County since tracking began in 2006.
The Safe Surrender Coalition leads the effort to educate Kern County residents about this law. This group of dedicated individuals represents a long list of departments, non-profits, hospitals and stakeholders. In addition to safe surrender baby site locations at fire stations and hospital emergency rooms, a statewide, toll-free hotline (1-877-BABYSAF) or (1-877-222-9723) also provides safe surrender baby site locations throughout the state.
When:
February 2, 2017
11:00 a.m. – Noon PT
Where:
Kern Medical
Main Entrance (east side of hospital)
1700 Mt. Vernon Ave.
Bakersfield, CA 93306
Who:
Kern Medical and Kern County Safe Surrender Coalition
Contact:
Carrie Weiss
carrie@amfmediagroup.com
925.790.2718