HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Health announced this week that it has expanded its facility dog program to include a fourth member.
The newest member will be based at the orthopedics and neurophysiology pediatric specialty clinics at 30 Hope Drive on the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus, Penn State Health said.
The dog, who has not yet been named, joins a pack that includes Kaia, Becky, and Pilot, in a program that began in 2016.
Kaia was the first full-time facility dog on staff, according to Penn State Health. Becky joined the team in 2018, followed by Pilot in 2020.
The dogs are a constant presence at Penn State Health Children's Hospital. They help patients cope with major and minor hospital procedures.
The team’s new canine partner will work with their handler to help pediatric patients receiving outpatient orthopedic, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and neurophysiology services.
The four-legged employees spend 40 hours on the job each week with their primary handlers, with time allowed for downtime, naps, and walks, according to Penn State Health. The dogs also live with their primary handlers.
All of the dogs were raised and trained by Canine Assistants in Georgia, where they learned skills unique to working with kids at a children's hospital or pediatric outpatient center, such as how to navigate hallways when walking next to wheelchairs and IV poles and gently resting next to a child who has experienced an injury, such as an amputation.
The expansion of the facility dog program is made possible in part by an $86,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, Penn State Health said. The grant will provide partial support for the new certified child life specialist, pet sheltering costs and supplies, and an on-site mobile dog groomer for all four of Penn State Health’s facility dogs.
“We are very grateful for PetSmart Charities’ generous support,” Ashley Kane, manager of the Child Life Program at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital said. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand into new areas where therapeutic interventions with our facility dog teams will benefit our young patients and their families and advance our care teams’ goals. This financial support from PetSmart Charities will enable us to grow our program and provide comfort and healing to more children as they receive needed therapy and treatment.”
Certified Child Life Specialist Michelle Flynn joined the Child Life team in July 2021 and began working at 30 Hope Drive in Jan. 2022. As the new facility dog’s handler, Flynn is establishing the Child Life presence in the outpatient practice in anticipation of the dog’s arrival in the fall. The fourth dog will be provided by the existing Kelso Facility Dog Endowment, which was established by an anonymous donor in honor of their dog, a Belgian Malinois named Kelso.
“PetSmart Charities is excited to partner with the Child Life Program at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital to bring the healing powers of the human-animal bond to pediatric patients, families and staff in the outpatient setting,” Kelly Balthazor, community grants manager at PetSmart Charities said. “These specially trained animals bring comfort and cheer to patients' loved ones, too.”
The funding from PetSmart Charities’ will enhance the facility dog program, which was started and is sustained by philanthropic contributions, and increase the number of animal-assisted therapeutic interventions to serve an additional 1,500 pediatric patients annually.
For more information on the facility dog program at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, click here. For more information on PetSmart Charities, click here.
