New facility dog and Child Family Life team support kids at Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
There are a few new faces at the University of Minnesota Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) ― and one of them is a golden retriever-lab mix. Facility dog Jersey recently joined the team alongside certified Child Life Specialists Cala Hefferan and Ann Kjolhaug.
Hefferan launched a new, dedicated Child Family Life Service at MIDB late last year to support kids receiving care or participating in research at the institute.
Opened in 2021, MIDB is a joint clinic and research center dedicated to caring for childhood brain and behavioral development. Clinicians work with children with a range of developmental and behavioral concerns, from autism to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, depression, and anxiety. Our child life specialists focus on the emotional and social needs of patients and their families, helping them cope with the challenges and stress of anything from an office visit to a lab draw.
Patients at MIDB who may benefit from added support are referred to Child Family Life Services. Hefferan then decides which interventions to use – which could include working with facility dog Jersey, whose job varies based on patient needs.
Child Family Life Services is a system-wide team and also has two other facility dogs, Fern and Inka, located at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.
What is a facility dog?
Facility dogs are a type of assistance dog, trained to pay attention to and work with people in a setting like a hospital or clinic, as opposed to supporting one individual. Jersey is trained to perform certain tasks and accustomed to a 40-hour work week.
“Once a facility dog is partnered with a child life specialist, we work with their trainer to explain the interventions we foresee doing with the dog,” said Hefferan. “Then we collaborate with the trainer on which tasks the facility dog should learn in addition to their existing training.”
Three-year-old Jersey came to MIDB from Can Do Canines, a nonprofit specialized in training and matching assistance dogs with people living with disabilities. Over the last 30 years, Can Do Canines has provided more than 800 service dogs to adults and children who live with disabilities that include mobility challenges, hearing loss or deafness, seizure disorders, diabetes complicated by hypoglycemia unawareness, or childhood autism. We partnered with them for Fern and Inka as well.
"The collaboration Can Do Canines has experienced with M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital in placing facility dogs has been amazing! We are honored that Jersey has joined the team at Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, and we know that she, like Fern and Inka, will impact so many lives,” said Jeff Johnson, executive director of Can Do Canines. “Seeing the facility dog program not simply grow, but do so in an exciting new direction, continues to make us proud to be partnering with M Health Fairview."
M Health Fairview launched the B.A.R.K. (Brave and Resilient Kids) Buddies NutriSource Facility Dog Program at Masonic Children’s Hospital in 2019 as the first of its kind in the state, thanks to a $250,000 startup gift from NutriSource Pet Foods, part of Minnesota-based KLN Family Brands. We’re excited to have grown our program to include Fern and Inka at the hospital, and now Jersey at MIDB. This has been made possible thanks to the continued support of NutriSource Pet Foods.
Fern and Inka are also supported by a second $250,000 gift from the Row The Boat Fleck Family Fund, created by University of Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck and his wife, Heather. Jersey’s role is also made possible through a $250,000 gift from NetSPI.
An important member of the team
“If a child struggles with transitions, Jersey can meet them in the lobby to build rapport and normalize the environment, then help them transition from the lobby to the clinic,” said Hefferan.
Jersey can also act out medical procedures with her handlers, modeling them for kids before they have them done. These include lab draws, vitals, and MRIs, among others. During procedures or other stressful moments, Jersey can provide sensory support and an alternate focus for kids. This support can help clinicians get a more accurate assessment of what each patient is like in a typical environment.
“One of the skills Jersey has been taught is to ‘visit.’ This means to sit with a patient and place her head on their knee or side,” said Hefferan. “She can help mediate stress and anxiety in the clinic, which in turn helps the child and family be closer to their baseline behavior.”
Our three facility dogs have provided countless moments of comfort and assistance for the kids and families in our care, and we’re excited to welcome Jersey to the team. Together with her handlers, Hefferan and Kjolhaug, Jersey is making a difference in the lives of our patients and helping us to provide child- and family-centered care at MIDB.
