Medina FD honored for ‘Baby Hope’
Photo courtesy of Tim Jaccard – The Medina Fire Department was honored last week with “Torch of Life Awards” for the department’s role in accepting a surrendered baby. Pictured, form left: Medina Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich; Tim Jaccard, president and director of the AMT Children of Hope Foundation – Baby Safe Haven; and Medina firefighter Dennis Pollock.
MEDINA – The call came on May 25, a mother in crisis had just given birth. She wanted to hand off the baby to a responsible adult.
She called a crisis “Safe Haven” hotline and was directed to go to the Medina fire hall. Firefighter Dennis Pollock knew the law, and accepted “Baby Hope.” Firefighters then took the newborn to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.
The Medina Fire Department handled the situation “flawlessly,” said Tim Jaccard, president and director of the AMT Children of Hope Foundation – Baby Safe Haven.
He drove from Long Island last week to present a “Torch of Life Award” to Pollock and Todd Zinkievich, the Medina fire chief.
The Safe Haven Law allows mothers to surrender babies, up to 30 days old, without charges of abandonment. The law has saved nearly 3,000 babies since 2001, Jaccard said.
“This gives a birth mother in a crisis situation an alternative to relinquish a baby in a safe manner,” said Jaccard, who is the state Safe Haven coordinator.
