MIDDLESBORO, Ky. – Representatives from Appalachian Regional Healthcare gathered with local and state officials as well as community members Friday to celebrate the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box at Middlesboro ARH Hospital.

Established in Indiana in 2016 by U.S. Navy veteran Monica Kelsey, Safe Haven Baby Boxes are intended to help prevent infant abandonment by providing a safe, legal and compassionate way for mothers in crisis to surrender their newborns.

Kelsey, who grew up with the knowledge she was adopted, founded the organization when, at the age of 37, she discovered she was conceived through rape and abandoned as an infant.

“We have seen time and time again that preparation can save and change lives,” Kelsey said. “We never know when or where we will be needed, so it is crucial to have options for mothers in crisis. I am grateful for local advocates who take our mission to their community.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box at Middlesboro ARH is located near the MRI/Cath Lab entrance of the hospital.

Mothers unable to care for their infants can open the box from the outside and leave their child in a bassinette. Once the door to the box has been closed, it locks from the inside and two separate alarms are triggered to alert hospital staff to the situation.

“It’s a temperature-controlled space that is accessible only by staff through a keypad,” explained Middlesboro ARH CEO Michael Slusher. “When the door is closed, it triggers alarms in the Emergency Department and in the med-surg unit. Staff then go in and immediately take the baby to the ED for assessment and also contact Child Protective Services.”

There are cameras inside the box, but to ensure anonymity, there are no cameras on the outside of the box or in the area of the parking lot where the Safe Haven Baby Box is located.

Friday’s event, officially titled a “Safe Haven Baby Box Blessing,” featured speakers from throughout the community, as well as a blessing from ARH clergy.

Though officially a partnership between Middlesboro ARH and Safe Haven Baby Box, it was the idea of Middlesboro native Olivia Johnson, who, as a 16-year-old, made it her mission to raise the $25,000 necessary for the installation.

“I remember sitting on my bed one day and my mom came in and showed me this ad she had seen for the baby boxes,” Johnson recalled. “I said that is such a neat thing and a good idea, but I just kind of left it at that.”

That conversation, however, triggered a memory from years earlier, when Johnson, now 18 and a freshman at Eastern Kentucky University, learned of a baby who died after being abandoned in a dumpster.

“I never forgot that story,” she said.

Two weeks later, she told her mom she planned to raise the money for a box in Middlesboro.

“From that point on, we hit the ground running,” Johnson said, adding though she was behind the fundraising, her mother Joy Goins, had to help with the legal end of things as she was still a minor.

Over the next two years, Johnson spoke at meetings and events, posted flyers and hosted fundraisers until she met her goal.

Johnson, who in 2024 was named SOAR’s Appalachian Student of the Year for her efforts, said the recognition was nice, but was not the important part of the project.

“This is such an important thing to have here in Middlesboro,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, the Safe Haven Baby Box never has to be used. In a perfect world, every woman is able to get pregnant on her own time, with a loving family to provide support. But that isn’t realistic.

“And so, if mothers in Middlesboro or surrounding areas need it, they know there is a safe, anonymous way they can surrender their child and know that they will be loved and cared for.”

Both Slusher and Jessi Getrost from Safe Haven Baby Box thanked Johnson for her work.

“We are very grateful to Olivia for her hard work,” Slusher said. “To have that level of commitment as a 16-year-old high school student, is truly amazing.”

Getrost added, “We’re blessed to have outstanding citizens like Olivia in communities that see a need for another option for parents. We couldn’t be more grateful to her for her diligent work in fundraising for this Middlesboro Safe Haven Baby Box.”