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Therapy Dogs Bring Comfort
by Michelle Cornell,
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune
July 7, 2022
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune staff are
receiving comfort and support from four-legged friends. For the past
several months, Beasley, the Basset Hound, has been making her rounds
in her Red Cross volunteer vest, providing treats for humans in the
form of pets and cuddles.
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June 29, 2022 - Beasley the Basset Hound and her owner make
a stop to visit with staff from the Emergency Department at
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune. Beasley in her Red Cross
volunteer vest provides treats for humans in the form of
pets and cuddles. The staff at medical center received
comfort and support from Beasley and other four-legged
friends. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Molin)
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Beasley’s owner is a member of the Alliance
of Therapy Dogs [ATD], an international registry of certified
therapy dogs. NMCCL’s Patient Safety Office reached out to the
organization during the facility’s transition to MHS GENESIS, the
Military Health System’s new structure for electronic health
records.
“To prepare for the launch of MHS GENESIS, I had
been meeting with other MTF [Military Treatment Facility] staff to
see what helped during their transitions, and I heard others had
used therapy dogs,” said Jennifer Cruz, patient safety manager for
NMCCL. “I reached out to the ATD, and they contacted their local
network. We got about four to five people interested, and their
first visit was on our launch date.”
The launch of MHS
GENESIS took place on March 19, 2022. The transition created an
additional workload for a team that had been fighting COVID-19 and
coping with staffing shortages for the past two years.
“As a
patient safety manager, one of my primary roles is culture of
safety, and when our staff are stressed out, they don’t operate at
their highest level. Stress affects performance,” Cruz explained.
Therapy dogs have been used nationally to help health care
workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American
Heart Association’s website, the use of therapy dogs has shown to
improve mental health in the work environment, “Therapy dogs are
proven to help: reduce work-related stress, help increase
productivity, manage anxiety, increase activity and provide a sense
of togetherness.”
Beasley’s owner, Donald Ingram, was one of
the first handlers to visit NMCCL during the MHS GENESIS rollout.
Ingram visits NMCCL on a weekly basis with one of his four, rescue
Bassett Hounds who are each certified therapy dogs. As a retired
U.S. Navy Officer, Ingram says he has a particular interest in
working with and supporting the military community.
“In my
experience, doing therapy dog work for six years, they are very well
received in the community,” Ingram said. “I think the vast majority
of people love to interact with the dogs, and it is almost always a
positive experience for people. It’s a stress relief to do something
different and enjoyable during the stressful workday.”
Ingram says he hopes to continue visiting NMCCL, and Medical Center
staff are eager for more time with Beasley and her fellow therapy
dog team.
“The day of the [MHS GENESIS] launch, I was the
general surgeon/trauma surgeon on-call, and it ended up being a very
busy day in trauma,” said U.S. Navy Lieutenant Alana Noritake. “I
had no idea there were going to be therapy dogs at the hospital.
When I saw her, I was so happy she was there, it was as if she could
tell how stressed out I was. Her calming presence helped me.”
While right now the focus is on staff, the Patient Safety Office
is hoping to eventually include patients during the weekly therapy
dog visits.
“It’s a stressful time in medicine in general;
everybody is stressed, everybody is short-staffed, and everybody is
working as hard as they can,” Noritake said. “These visits help show
our people that the community is trying to look out for us too.”
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