Contact: Sara Quale
sara.quale@bannerhealth.com
(970) 810-6133
STERLING, Colo. (May 1, 2019) — Sterling Regional MedCenter is the latest hospital location in the Banner Health network to become an official Safe Haven site for abandoned newborns. By June 2019, all Banner hospital locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming will have completed the comprehensive training conducted by Banner Health officials for the program.
Baby Safe Haven laws exist in all states to ensure that relinquished infants are left with capable providers to provide immediate care for their safety and well-being. Because the program is anonymous, parents are protected from potential prosecution as long as the child is delivered to proper authorities unharmed. Safe Haven laws differ across the country, but Colorado accepts infants up to three days old. In addition to health care institutions like Banner Health, fire stations are also approved Safe Haven providers in Colorado.
“More than 4,000 infants have been saved by the Safe Haven law (since 1999),” Banner Safe Baby Haven Program Manager Heather Burner, RN, BSN, said. “There are still abandonments in our country quite often, and we still have work to do to spread awareness, but the Banner Health family is here to provide safe options in a crisis.”
Banner Health personnel in Sterling now have the training, resources and support to navigate any crisis pregnancy situation. Staff is able to work with and identify mothers or parents that might be at risk and assist in a solution. In addition to training, Banner Health has invested in a subject matter expert to support and educate both parents and staff.
In the last 24 months, Burner has assisted in more than 10 Safe Haven cases which have involved the mother and/or parents choosing to parent the infant with additional resources and family involvement, adoption or Save Haven placement.
“There are safe alternatives that prevent infant abandonment,” Burner said. “There are tragic instances and we want to help. We want the community to have faith in their health care team and know when they come to our hospitals, our staff has the training to support them.”
Safe Haven signage has been posted at public access entrances throughout Sterling Regional MedCenter as well as other Banner Health Safe Haven locations.
For more information about Safe Haven laws, visit www.nationalsafehavenalliance.org.
About Sterling Regional MedCenter
Sterling Regional MedCenter has provided medical care to residents of northeastern Colorado and the surrounding area since 1938. The hospital offers a full range of health care services and a staff dedicated to providing our patients with excellent care. Sterling also is home to the David Walsh Cancer Center, which offers an unprecedented level of cancer care to the region. The hospital is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit hospital and health care system with 28 hospitals in six states. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com/Sterling.