LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A newborn girl was treated by doctors at Desert Springs Hospital on Wednesday after she was found alone in the hospital's parking lot.
Officials at the hospital said a doctor found the baby at about 3:40 a.m. while walking into work.
She was treated at Sunrise Hospital, and has been placed into protective custody. Metro Police said the baby appeared to be healthy.
Authorities have not located the child's parents. While Nevada's Safe Haven law allows parents to leave children at hospitals, fire or police stations "no questions asked," the child must be left in someone's care.
"They can leave the child on the premises, but they must notify that facility that they left the child, and where they left it in order for someone to leave the facility to go out and check on the welfare of the child," said Kristine Buist, who works in Metro's Abuse & Neglect Detail.
Pediatrician Muriel DeSimone told FOX5 that a newborn needs almost constant care, and if left unattended for too long, death can happen quickly.
"A person can go a couple of days without eating... a baby can't go more than a couple of hours. So it could be pretty quick that something terrible could've happened to the baby," DeSimone said.
Police want to find the mother of the girl, if nothing more than to get her medical history and see if she, herself is okay. Investigators also want to be sure that the mother, indeed left the child on her own accord.
"We're looking at it as a Safe Haven law surrender, but we do want to investigate a little more the circumstances of it," Buist said.
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