Safe Haven Infant Relinquishment

Any baby up to 30 days old and unharmed can be brought to a designated location to be safely surrendered at any time (24 hours a day/ 365 days a year).

In Virginia all fire stations, rescue squad stations and 24-hour hospital emergency rooms are considered safe places. This includes the four Riverside acute care hospital emergency departments located across the region.

• Eastern Shore
  Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital
  20480 Market Street
  Onancock, VA 23417

• Middle Peninsula
  Riverside Walter Reed Hospital
  7547 Medical Drive
  Gloucester, VA 23061

• Peninsula
  Riverside Regional Medical Center
  500 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.
  Newport News, VA 23601

• Williamsburg
  Riverside Doctors’ Hospital of Williamsburg
  1500 Commonwealth Ave.
  Williamsburg, VA 23185

The baby will be cared for by medical staff and admitted to the hospital for care.

When the baby is healthy and ready to be discharged from the hospital, the Department of Social Services will take over their care, initially placing the child in a foster home and then with a permanent adoptive family.

We urge any parent who has recently given birth to seek medical care for themselves as well, but it is not required as part of the Safe Haven relinquishment process.

If you do not feel comfortable seeking care at the same location where you surrender the baby, please consider going somewhere else for your own care.