Polly, a 23-month-old, black labrador, has joined the Child Life team at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) in Norwood to support young patients during hospitalizations and medical appointments.

 

CHAM officials say dedicated Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) like Katy Dessick assist children through medical play, helping them understand their illness, cope with procedures, and achieve their health goals. Polly lives with Dessick who accompanies Polly on her hospital visits to see the children. CHAM officials said Polly kicked off her new job at the hospital during Child Life Month, which is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the vital role CCLSs play in supporting young patients.

 

“Child Life is a specialty that has evolved over the past 100 years and uses a variety of tools to educate and support children through some of the most trying times of their young lives,” said Meghan D. Kelly, MSEd, CCLS., director of the Phoebe H. Stein Child Life Program at CHAM.

 

Kelly added, “Polly is the newest tool our child life specialists will employ to help young patients who are anxious, who are facing extended hospital stays, and who need assistance getting through tough procedures. We are delighted to welcome Polly as the newest member of the CHAM child life team.”

CHAM officials said Polly spent the last six months in professional training with expert instructors at Canine Companions, who have provided facility dogs, animals highly trained to assist healthcare professionals with specific tasks, free of charge, since 1975.

 

The new, canine member of the child life team comes to CHAM thanks to funds raised by former New York Ranger and current Boston Bruins defenseman, Kevin Shattenkirk, through his partnership with the Jam Kancer In The Kan Foundation.

 

“I’ve seen first-hand just how important the Child Life Specialists are to a patient’s treatment during my visits to CHAM,” said Shattenkirk, who previously funded staffing which enabled a playroom at CHAM to be opened and available for extended times during the day.

 

“My wife Deanna and I jumped at the opportunity to add a four-legged member to the team,” he added. “We believe Polly will have such a positive impact on every child she interacts with.”

 

CHAM officials said Polly is available to “treat” patients in need of physical and emotional support, such as children recovering from surgery who need encouragement getting out of bed and walking. They said she’s also assisting children who need motivation to have open conversations about difficult and stressful topics, such as eating disorders.

They said Polly is seeing around seven patients per day. “Polly is a unique member of our Child Life team,” said Dessick. “Few children’s hospitals have facility dogs in-house to assist with patient needs. We are very grateful to Kevin Shattenkirk for making this possible, and to Canine Companions, who dedicate countless hours to training dogs like Polly to be crucial aids for people in need of extra support.”

 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced Polly as a certified child life specialist. Though Polly did spend six months in professional training with expert instructors at Canine Companies, who provide “facility dogs,” animals highly trained to assist healthcare professionals with specific tasks, and is a member of the Child Life Team at CHAM, she is not a certified child life specialist. We apologize for this error.