26 July 2023
MCPHERSON, Kan. (KSNW) – House Bill 2024 was passed in May of this year and allows for the installation of newborn safety boxes at fire and police stations in the state of Kansas.
The first safety box was installed in Indiana in 2016 by Safe Haven Baby Boxes. They now have over 156 boxes across the country. However, they have installed zero in Kansas.
The McPherson Fire Department played a key role in the passing of the new bill. It was important to them because they responded to a call in 2008 where a newborn had been left in a dumpster.
“A law enforcement officer actually found that child face down in one of the poly cart trash cans, she was still alive, and then they brought them over to us, and we rendered aid to her. That moment stuck in my mind,” said McPherson Police Chief T.J. Wyssmann.
McPherson Fire Department has raised the $15,000 in funding needed to create and install the box. They are in talks with Safe Haven Baby Boxes and a local company on constructing the box.
Their goal is to have the box up and operational by January 1, 2024.