Rockville Centre, NY – Confusion, panic and depression. These are some of the emotions someone might be experiencing if they have just had a baby...after hiding their pregnancy. You may know this person, or it might even be you. What do you do? Mercy Medical Center offers an alternative to abandonment by offering a Safe Haven.

Mercy Medical Center’s Safe Haven program provides mothers of newborns a solution that protects the well-being of the infant with the confidentiality that the mother may need. Under a new law, newborn babies can be brought directly to a local Safe Haven within the first five days after birth and the parent is free from prosecution for abandonment. Approved as a Safe Haven, Mercy Medical Center will accept any newborn and the mother who needs care.

Sr. Mary Alice Aschenbach, CIJ, Vice President for Ministries stated, “A cornerstone of Catholic belief is the sacredness of life. The act of providing a Safe Haven for the baby is one way our beliefs are put into action.”

Newborn babies can be brought to Mercy Medical Center’s Emergency Department anytime day or night, NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED. Third parties may also assist by taking the baby to the hospital. To recognize with compassion, the fears, anxieties and uncertainties of a new mother who has dealt with her pregnancy in isolation, Mercy Medical Center also offers confidential counseling to help with this crisis. For more information, please call (516) 705-1612.

Media Contact:  Maryann Ging at 516-705-2620