A newborn infant girl discovered in a garbage bag along a corridor of the San Fernando General Hospital had to receive urgent medical attention yesterday. The baby was abandoned by her mother, who left a note attached to the child, who appeared to be a few weeks old.
Guardian Media understands that the mother asked the state to take care of the child in the note, as she just did not have the means to take do so herself.
The child was discovered by Emanuel Pierre, 26, who had a job interview at the hospital yesterday.
Pierre said sometime between 8.30 and 9 am, he saw a “garbage” bag in a hallway with its top twisted but not tied. He said he heard noises from inside the bag and when he opened it, he made the shocking discovery.
He said he called out to nurses nearby and they examined the baby and took it for immediate treatment.
“Well, they came, they looked at it, some of the nurses from nearby and they said they had to call the social services department that is in the hospital right there and they came and they took it,” Pierre recalled.
He estimated that the baby was only a few weeks old. Pierre has a three-month-old son.
Despite his act, Pierre said he doesn’t consider himself a hero.
“I feeling good about it because I was able to save an innocent child’s life,” he said.
He was sad about the circumstances though.
“Judging from what I saw there, it was a baby of Venezuelan origin,” he said.
“It looks like someone unable to take care of the child and just rest it there because as you see, they didn’t kill it or leave it dead or anything. [They] just put it where it could be retrieved. But the way in which it was done was kind of inhumane, seeing as it was in a bag.”
Pierre confirmed there was a note in the bag but said he did see what was written on it.
In a statement yesterday, the Southwest Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) also noted that an investigation had been launched to determine the circumstances that led to the incident. The SWRHA said it had alerted the relevant partner state agencies to provide all the necessary assistance as required.
Guardian Media understands that the SWRHA handed the note over to the police as evidence in their investigation into the matter. It is also understood that the SWRHA will be the custodian of the child until the State makes a decision on who will care for her.
Guardian Media also understands no person of interest has yet been identified in the matter.
