ABOYNE – On a Tuesday afternoon, staff and patients are flocking to the entrance of Groves Memorial Community Hospital (GMCH) to get to see someone very special to them before he does his rounds.
It’s not a famous doctor, or a celebrity who played a doctor on TV or film but 11-year-old Digger, a Jack Russell cross rescue from Kentucky who has the role of service dog to bring a bit of joy to the workers and patients at the Wellington County hospital.
This program sees a St. John Ambulance therapy dog come to GMCH twice a week to visit with staff members and patients.
It just started at the hospital in July but has already proven very popular.
“This is the third time we tried to make it out to say hi but it’s been so busy,” said x-ray technician Rachel Clark. “It’s a little break from the normal everyday stuff.”
Laura Burns, elder life specialist at GMCH, was on the team involved in bringing this program to the hospital and said in the climate of health care post-COVID it’s helpful to have extra support for staff and patients.
“It creates an opportunity to kind of de-stress and it’s just something that you don’t normally think of at a hospital but it can be quite comforting for a lot of patients whether they have an advanced cognitive impairment or not,” Burns said. “Sometimes it gives them an opportunity to interact in a way that is easier.”
Digger’s handler Jennifer Garner, who has been with St. John Ambulance for 29 years, said therapy dogs can act like an icebreaker and has seen the benefits they bring to people with ailments like Alzheimer's or dementia.
“People that have been non-communicative, they’ll start talking or singing and that’s what it’s all about,” Garner said.
“Putting smiles on faces, bringing back good memories ... Petting the dog releases your endorphins which makes you feel better.”
Digger starts by hanging around the entrance for awhile and staff available can come to him to pet him, give him scratches, receive dog kisses and some got right down onto the floor to his level.
Afterwards, Digger will go around to different departments and floors to visit with staff and patients there if they are able to.
“He gives me some comfort … makes me a bubble of joy,” said an inpatient, who can’t be named due to patient privacy, while petting Digger.
On Thursday, a 10-year-old doodle named Pepe takes the role of Digger but with a different temperament than the excitable Jack Russell who needs the occasional reminder to remain on the ground.
This program is also at Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest and they are currently looking to add it at Palmerston and District Hospital as well.
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