Tennessee facilities monitor newborn safety devices and arrange hospital care

Listed participating locations include ambulance stations with staff scheduled around the clock. The text refers to ambulance stations among places where an infant may be surrendered under the section. The ambulance station must have staff scheduled 24 hours a day.

Participating facilities must place approved newborn safety devices where staff can see them and keep them continuously monitored. The listed settings are participating hospitals, fire stations, ambulance stations, police stations, emergency communications centers, and nursing homes. The facility must be licensed or otherwise legally operating in Tennessee and have staff scheduled every day, around the clock, through a licensed emergency medical services provider.

When facility staff accept physical custody of a newborn, they must arrange transport to the nearest hospital emergency room; when they retrieve a newborn from a qualifying device, they must also immediately call emergency services. This applies when an employee or medical professional at the facility accepts physical custody of a newborn or retrieves one from a device that meets the section's requirements. The staff member has implied consent to provide appropriate medical treatment. The hospital must immediately notify the Department of Children's Services, which must immediately assume care and custody of the newborn. Staff must act immediately; the hospital and Department of Children's Services must also act immediately after the hospital receives the newborn and the department is notified.