Newborn Boy Left on Hospital Bench: Placement With a Family Will Be Sought

By Dan Galindo, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

Jun. 23–A 4-pound baby boy left on a bench outside Forsyth Medical Center yesterday morning is in good condition and could be out of the hospital in about a week, officials said.

The baby, who was less than 24 hours old, was found in a basket on a bench near a hospital entrance about 6:50 a.m. A visitor to the hospital saw him, and told a nurse who was on his way in to work, said Mike Horn, a spokesman for the hospital.

The boy was premature, but he should be fine after about a week in the hospital’s neonatal intensive-care unit, Horn said.

North Carolina’s Safe Surrender law, passed in 2001, allows a parent to surrender a baby to a responsible adult within seven days of giving birth. More than 45 states have similar laws.

Freda Springs, a hospital spokeswoman, said it appeared that the person who left the

baby on the bench followed

the intent of the law, although the baby was not given to an adult.

“Although the law wasn’t followed to its entirety, the good news is that we have a healthy baby that’s in good condition and in safe hands here at the hospital,” Springs said.

Police said they were talking to child-protective services workers and the hospital. So far, it does not appear that the person who left the baby committed a crime.

Hospital officials said they would like to reach the mother to make sure she is getting appropriate medical care after giving birth.

After the baby is out of the hospital, child-protective services will try to place him with a family, Horn said.

— Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at

dgalindo@wsjournal.com.

—–

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