Some of the employees members of Cook Children’s Medical Center have a particular means to unleash pleasure.
“Steve is my guy, he’s my other half,” Laura Sonefeld, a toddler life specialist, mentioned. Members of the child life group ship referrals to Sonefeld and Steve to assist elevate affected person spirits and supply emotional assist.
Sonefeld is the ability canine program coordinator, and Steve, a golden doodle, is her canine assistant.
“He’s my coworker at work and my child at home,” Sonefeld mentioned. “And when we’re out of work, he is a normal dog. And he is very much normal.”
The Sit…Stay… PLAY program has been in place at Cook Children’s for 10 years. Five different dogs and their handlers accompany Steve and Sonefeld on the employees.
Valerie Lohmar, leisure therapist within the inpatient psychiatry unit, works with Zuni, a Labrador golden retriever combine.
“She can be a little bit sassy, which I think is perfect for our population,” Lohmar mentioned. “Some of the other dogs are more snuggly, and some of them are more playful, and some of them are really good at reading the room and who needs the most love.”
Lohmar additionally added that Zuni can inform when sufferers are having a nasty day.
Sonefeld mentioned in 2013, the then-director of household life providers discovered of an identical program at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and needed one at Cook Children’s. Six months later, the medical heart had its first two dogs.
“It’s really cool to see how the dogs can really light up a room,” Hanes mentioned. “It’s really cool to see how the dogs can read the rooms… In one room, they pick up on a patient wanting a more playful environment and for some others, they just want a dog to lay with them.”
She mentioned all of the dogs are very intuitive and Steve can also be very empathetic with households.
“There are times where you walk into a patient room, and Steve is more impactful for the parent than for the patient,” Sonefeld mentioned. “He knows what he’s supposed to do, who he needs to go up to and who needs the most comfort. And sometimes that’s dad, sometimes it’s mom and the kids just enjoying a dog. But dad’s the one that really needs the support, though.”
Sydney Hanes, digital communications senior specialist, mentioned households have been identified to bond with the dogs.
“I feel like a lot of people who see work dogs think that they are very stoic and very serious all the time,” she mentioned. “Honestly, that is completely the opposite.”
