The baby boxes allow parents to surrender a newborn safely and anonymously if they cannot provide care until the child is 30 days old.
The ODH notified the fire department in September that an investigation was underway following filing of a complaint that the baby box did not meet a requirement of placement on an exterior wall with access from outside a building. The letter to Simmons said ODH also looked at allowing anonymity for surrendering parent(s) and fire station staffing to have someone to take possession of a surrendered child left in the box.
The exterior wall location question was resolved with a letter from the Miami County chief building official stating the location in the building foyer would be considered an exterior wall in construction.
The privacy questions were answered with information from the fire department that no security video is taken of the box. ODH said the department also placed an opaque panel inside the fire station to prevent viewing of any individual using the box. Simmons said a camera was removed from the front of fire station after a question about anonymity.
The law now requires at least one department individual present at a station to take possession of any surrendered infant. The fire department reported daily staffing of firefighters and paramedics is four to six. “Troy noted that while staff could be assigned calls, they are not generally assigned call simultaneously, thus allowing a member to be present for the surrender of an infant,” the ODH said.
Simmons said that while the department’s baby box was never closed, “We are pleased that any issues surrounding the operation and use of ours have been closed by the Ohio Department of Health.”
Troy’s department worked to ensure all rules for the boxes were followed throughout planning for the new station, Simmons said. The state legislature is looking at possible changes in regulations to ensure other locations and future ones can operate using staffing along with modern alarm technology, he said.
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