Paws & Play Doggy Digest 2020 #2

The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department

2020 Issue 2

Celebrating Professor Bunsen Honeydew and Famous Amos Professor and Amos’ 5th birthday celebration spotlighted a tie-dye theme party hosted by child life and creative arts therapy department. The event, held on August 27, featured a dog talk show on KZTV, party favors for patients, badge reels for staff, a party in the Zone and a puppy parade on the units and hematology/oncology clinic. Patients, families and staff agreed that the highlight of the day was the puppy parade where the dogs visited all units in the pediatric hospital in their tie-dye bandanas. The day ended with a visit to the Zone where patients and families sang happy birthday to Professor and Amos and gave them many pets! Thank you to our generous donors for helping us celebrate this milestone with our patients, families and staff. Without you, this work would not be possible.

Patient Spotlight, Jasmine and Professor Bunsen Honeydew Jasmine, 12, was admitted to Mount Sinai’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) while waiting for a heart transplant. After two weeks of waiting, she received a donor heart and was discharged shortly thereafter. In the beginning of her admission, Jasmine had difficulty coping, but Professor brought her comfort and helped reduce her anxiety. Professor helped encouraged Jasmine to ambulate throughout her admission, taking daily walks in the PICU hallway. Following her transplant, Jasmine was able to see Professor from the door, and even then, he was a constant support for both her and her mother, putting smiles on their faces even on challenging days. One of Jasmine’s favorite activities during her admission was creating tie-dye bandanas for all three dogs to celebrate their joint birthday party! www.mountsinai.org/pawsandplay

Instagram @MountSinai_PawsandPlay

Moby and Professor Research Study Update The Paws & Play program is full speed ahead working on two IRB-approved research studies focused on the impact of our facility dogs on patients and staff. The first study is assessing how pediatric patient distress during painful needle stick procedures is impacted by a certified child life specialist’s procedural support with facility dog, Professor.

Data collection involving 248 patients is expected to be completed by fall 2020, followed by analysis and dissemination of these important results. The second study, assessing the impact of facility dog, Moby, on the wellbeing of clinical care teams is in the data collection phase, expected to be completed in fall of 2021. Moby and his handler, creative arts therapist Jaclyn Craig, visit the inpatient and outpatient oncology units twice per week to support staff and provide relief from stress that is common to essential healthcare workers.

Welcoming Alex to the Paws & Play Team Alex Jamison, certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS), can barely contain her excitement about joining the Paws & Play team as Amos’s secondary handler. Alex primarily works in the child life zone with patients cleared to join in her age-appropriate activities. In her new role, Alex will provide Animal Assisted Therapy on the hematology/oncology unit for patients, families and staff throughout the week. She will collaborate with Amos to help encourage patients to participate in new recreation activities while in the hospital, as well as teach the importance of leisure time with the patients on this unit. She hopes to come up with endless dog-related activities, and of course, expand Famous Amos’ fan club!

Happy 5th Birthday Professor

Amos Assists with Physical Therapy

On September 8, our very own Professor turned 5!

Although we celebrated in August, Professor enjoyed another special day with patients, families and staff.

His day was filled with all of his favorite things, like belly rubs, strawberries, peanut butter, cuddle time, and of course, squirrel watching in Central Park. We look forward to many more birthdays to come!

Amos is a crucial team member when it comes to providing animal assisted therapy to patients. Child life and physical therapy collaborate on a daily basis to help patients achieve their treatment goals. Amos works with patients for a variety of reasons, but a common goal after surgery is to walk. After surgery, Amos provides motivation to patients on the fifth floor to help encourage them to walk, which is a requirement for patient discharge. Great job, Amos!

We are grateful to our partners!

Paws & Play is generously supported by PetSmart Charities®.

Paws & Play: Care for Clinical Teams is generously supported by the Gertrude Feil Charitable Trust, The RLichter Charity for Dogs, and EnCourage Kids Foundation.