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5 minute read
Patient’s Best Friend
Meet Peru, a golden retriever who serves as Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation White Oak’s facility dog.
ERU is trained by Canine Companions,
Pan organization that places service dogs with people who have disabilities, to support her handler, rehabilitation psychologist Heather Tropiano, Psy.D. Q: What is a facility dog?
A: Facility dogs like me help patients work toward specific treatment goals.
Q: How long have you been working with Adventist HealthCare Rehab?
A: I became an official member of the inpatient rehab team on Sept. 21, 2020, after a year of acclimating to the hospital environment. Now, Dr. Tropiano has set goals for me, and we are measuring my success in helping patients heal.
Q: How did you learn how to help patients?
A: I engaged in extensive, focused training for two weeks to learn more than 40 commands. During that time, Dr. Tropiano and I also learned how to work with one another and the best ways to utilize my abilities in a rehabilitation setting.
Q: What is your typical day like?
A: Dr. Tropiano and I check into Rehab White Oak in the morning. I practice my “push” command by summoning the elevator to the sixth floor, where I work. Dr. Tropiano plans my schedule. On a recent day, I started by spending 30 minutes playing ring toss with a patient while Dr. Tropiano assessed their progress. Next, I helped another patient use their stroke-affected hand to string beads.
At lunch, I go for a long walk around the hospital campus and complete a quick 5- to 10-minute training session on a new command. In the afternoon, I join Dr. Tropiano to help a patient who is having a hard time adjusting to a spinal cord injury. I am commanded to visit while the patient talks about adjusting to their new condition. I provide comfort in ways that humans sometimes cannot.
Before getting into the car to go home, I am rewarded with a few rounds of fetch outside!
Read more about how facility dogs help patients heal here at AHCYou.com/W22Dogs.
A FEW OF THE 40 COMMANDS THAT PERU USES IN THERAPY
“Get”
Pick up an item in your mouth.
“Give”
Let go of an item when a person’s hand is on it or near it.
“Hold”
Clutch and keep an item in your mouth.
“Up”
Raise front paws up and place them on a surface.
“Here”
Return or go to your handler or patient.
“Jump”
Place all four paws on a surface.
“Push”
Shove an indicated item with your nose.
“Tug”
Pull at an item with your mouth.
“Visit”
Rest head in patient’s lap.
PRIMARY CARE NURSES
Help Precious Preemies Thrive
Shaniqua Thomas, 31, of Rockville, was on bedrest at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center due to a high-risk pregnancy when she started experiencing contractions.
OB-GYN said, ‘This baby is coming “MY tonight. She just kicked me,’” remembered Shaniqua. During an emergency cesarean section, beautiful baby Adley entered the world almost four months early – weighing only 1 pound, 13 ounces.
“She was a little nugget, so small her lungs were not fully developed,” Shaniqua said.
In addition to having underdeveloped lungs, premature babies like Adley are at risk for many other serious health conditions.
“Many of these babies require a vent to help them breathe, are at risk for brain bleeds and risk developing retinopathy of prematurity, which causes blindness,” said Susan D’Angelo, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse at Shady Grove Medical Center.
The care premature babies receive in the first few days, weeks and months of their lives is critical and requires a special relationship with their nurses. Because of this, Susan spearheaded the NICU’s primary care nursing program. Whenever on duty, a specific nurse cares for the same newborn – for the entire length of the baby’s stay.
“You get to know the baby like your own child,” Susan said. “You build an incredible trust and partnership with the family. So much good comes from it.”
BENEFITS OF PRIMARY CARE NURSING
After delivery, Adley was taken to the Shady Grove NICU and became one of the first babies to receive care using the new primary care nursing model. Susan took expert care of her – and her parents.
Adley needed a breathing machine, feeding tube, brain monitor and a central line catheter to receive medicine and blood. To regulate her temperature, she was kept in a heated isolette, a special medical-grade bassinette.
“We were so nervous. To safely touch her, we put our hands in a special hand pocket on the incubator,” Shaniqua said. She and her husband Andre visited the NICU as often as they could. When they had to stay home and care for their older child, they were grateful to be able to call Susan for updates about Adley.
“We asked about her numbers. Did she have wet diapers?” Shaniqua said. When Adley needed special care, like a blood transfusion, Susan explained the procedures and reassured Shaniqua and Andre.
“As a primary care nurse, you care for the same baby each day for 12-hour shifts. If something isn’t quite right, you know it before anyone else,” Susan said. “You pick up on subtle cues and take action – sometimes before the baby gets very sick.”
Susan often partnered with Yanique Roberts, Adley’s primary care nurse at night.
“They were very loving and cared for Adley as their own,” Shaniqua said. “They gave us peace of mind.”
When premature babies are ready to go home, some still need monitors, oxygen and special medication. Primary care nurses like Susan make sure parents are prepared.
“In the weeks prior to discharge, we slowly taught Adley’s parents everything from feeding to temperature-taking to changing diapers while the baby is connected to wires,” Susan explained. “We want every patient’s discharge to be a day of celebration, not a day of panic. We work toward safe, effective discharges.”
THRIVING NOW
Adley went home with her joyous parents after 85 days in the Shady Grove NICU, weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces. And now, she’s thriving. She crawls, tries to pull herself up and laughs at her big sister.
“Premature babies are evaluated based on their corrected age – the age that they would have been if they had been born full-term. Adley is far exceeding her expectations, reaching milestones and is way ahead neurologically,” Susan said.
Shaniqua said she and Andre owe Adley’s success to the team at Shady Grove Medical Center.
“We thank our primary care NICU nurses at Shady Grove. They were phenomenal,” Shaniqua said. “We greatly appreciate the care they gave us.”
Learn more about our maternity services at AHCYou.com/ W22NICU.
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