By Julius Whigham II
The Palm Beach Post
PAHOKEE, Fla. — A mother anonymously left her 3-hour-old boy at a Pahokee fire station Monday evening, fire-rescue authorities said.
The mother turned over the boy to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel about 7 p.m. at the 171 N. Lake Ave. station under the safe-haven law, fire-rescue spokesman Don DeLucia said.
Fire-rescue crews checked him out and took him to the hospital, where he was in good condition Monday night, DeLucia said.
“I think it’s terrific. To be able to help out a newborn and to keep it alive (was special),” said Capt. Craig Prusansky, who was at the station when the child was brought in.
He said it was his first experience with a safe-haven child and he hopes more parents will become aware of the options the law offers.
“The system is in place to keep the baby safe and keep them alive and it actually worked,” he said.
Prusansky said the child’s mother appeared to be in her mid-30s.
Florida’s safe-haven law allows a parent to drop off a newborn within three days of birth at any fire station or hospital. It ensures parents cannot be investigated, prosecuted or forced to identify themselves as long as there is no indication the infant was abused.
Since the law passed in 2000, 148 babies have been left at safe havens statewide, 10 in Palm Beach County, according to the website of A Safe Haven for Newborns, a Miami-based advocacy group.
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