The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department
2019 Issue 1
Patient Spotlight: Keilyn and Professor Keilyn Perez, 8, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and receives treatment in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Her friendship with Professor began when Keilyn, Ali Spike, child life specialist, and Professor worked together to take oral medications. Keilyn practiced giving Professor pretend medication to help her gain confidence in taking her own. Today, Keilyn loves to come to the outpatient Hematology/Oncology clinic to play ball with Professor, have him by her side during her central line access and write letters to him to put in his mailbox. Keilyn’s favorite thing about Professor is that he is soft and fluffy. Her mother notes that sometimes Professor is the only thing to make her smile on difficult days.
Meet Moby! We are thrilled to welcome Moby, a 15-month-old golden doodle, to the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department at Mount Sinai from Canine Assistants. Thanks to the generous support of the Gertrude and Louis Feil Charitable Trust, we are able to expand our therapeutic offerings with the introduction of Paws & Play: Care for Clinical Teams and facility dog Moby. This program pairs licensed and board certified creative arts therapist, Jaclyn Damiano with Moby to provide well-being and resilience opportunities for staff, faculty, and trainees in the adult areas. Our mission will be dedicated to reducing burnout, stress, and depression in the workplace to positively impact patient care. Moby, named after the great American novel Moby Dick, enjoys playing outside, taking naps on the train, and meeting new people!
VISIT mountsinai.org/pawsandplay
Instagram @MountSinai_PawsandPlay
LB 2019
Facility Dogs Provide Staff Support Since the beginning of our program in March 2017, Amos and Professor have combined to provide over 1,000 sessions for staff members. In 2019 alone, that number is already over 480 sessions and we hope to grow that number even more. Major initiatives to help support our amazing staff members include Famous Amos’ Cookie Break and Professor’s Office Hours, which are biweekly staff support sessions on P5 and the PICU/PCICU with our hardworking pups. Staff is invited to take a break from their hectic days and grab a cup of coffee, some treats and, most importantly, get to snuggle. Our team has also collaborated with chaplaincy to bring Amos and Professor to Chi Time on P2, PICU/PCICU, P5 and the Hem/Onc Clinic. Staff continues to comment about the positive effects of seeing Professor and Amos and getting to spend time with them. Amos and Professor are also available on a referral basis to help support staff after particularly challenging cases. Melanie Eisman, Social Worker, shared that “Amos helps me process my feelings and reconnect with the environment during and after challenging situations. We are excited to grow our staff support offerings to bring more love to more of our hardworking colleagues!
Parent Coffee Hour in the PICU/PCICU with Professor Professor and his child life specialist handler, Marianne Porzelt and PICU/PCICU child life specialist Abby Patch, host a weekly coffee hour in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) for parents and caregivers. This can be an incredibly stressful environment for families due to the high acuity of the patients on the unit. Caregivers can enjoy coffee, tea, treats and snuggles from Professor. It is also a special opportunity for caregivers to interact with one another. You can often find a group of caregivers sitting around Professor on the floor of the lounge giving him a belly rub– what is more therapeutic than that!
Winter Celebrations: Christmas, New Years, and Valentine’s Day On Christmas Day, Professor tagged along with Santa Claus as a “reign-dog” to pass out cheer and gifts to pediatric patients and their families in the hospital. Patients loved seeing Professor dressed up to celebrate their day with him. He returned on New Year’s Day to help ring in 2019 with our holiday coffee cart and a New Year’s Day themed show! On Valentine’s Day, both Amos and Professor were decked out to pass out the love for pediatric staff, patients and families. Valentine’s Day stickers and lollipops were delivered to our amazing staff members and patients.
Pup Quiz! Paws & Play Trivia Presented by the Mount Sinai Auxiliary Board How well do you know your facts about our Paws & Play program? 1. When did the Paws & Play program launch? __________________________
5. How did our dogs get their names? _________________________________ VISIT mountsinai.org/pawsandplay
Instagram @MountSinai_PawsandPlay
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
4. Where were our dogs born and trained? _____________________________
March 2017 Three Prof & Amos:3 1/2, Moby: 1 1/2 Canine Assistants in Georgia Their litter themes were the Muppets, Cookies and Great American Novels!!
3. How old are our Professor, Amos and Moby?__________________________
Answer Key:
2. How many dogs are a part of the Paws & Play program? ________________