Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH), a medium sized acute-care hospital located in the Region of Waterloo, proudly introduced “Ember" as a new staff member to the community on August 3, 2022. Ember is no ordinary dog. She is a National Service Dogs (NSD) certified facility dog and the first one exclusively dedicated to a Canadian hospital. Ember and her handler team's role will be to support the mental health and wellbeing of CMH staff, physicians, midwives and volunteers.
Facility dogs provide goal directed interventions that can help staff with improvement in their physical, social, emotional or cognitive state. Ember will offer stress release, provide mental health support and provide emotional comfort. Facility dogs are typically deployed in high stress environments like Fire and Police Departments. The training process takes two years, which teaches the dog how to be close to people, including sitting on laps and giving hugs.
The possibility of having a facility dog was sparked when a staff member approached the hospital's executive team in 2019. “We thought it was a great idea and immediately pursued the application, said Patrick Gaskin, president and CEO Cambridge Memorial Hospital. “As health care providers, we face many challenges and daily stress that can impact our mental health and wellbeing. A facility dog would be another means to support our staff's mental health. Not only does Ember now provide comfort, she also opens the door to positive conversations around mental health," added Gaskin.
The impact of her presence was felt immediately. “I wish every unit had their own dog," joked Janine Kalmar, charge nurse of one of CMH's medical unit. “Our jobs have become so stressful since the pandemic started. When she's on the unit, we take our turns and get what we need from her. It helps us take a moment to breathe and shut out the noise and chaos around us. I'm so grateful that we have her."
After a two-month orientation period that included on-site assessments from the NSD, Ember was deployed at the end of July and is working regular hours, Monday through Friday. As the program matures, Ember will work other hours and will be “on call" at other times, if there is a need like a critical incident debrief. Her current routine consists of making rounds to different units on a daily basis. Staff can use a dedicated email or call to arrange a visit. Ember has three handlers at work that were trained and certified by NSD. Two of her handlers provide a home for the facility dog. She spends most of her free time with her primary handler, switching homes to the second handler should the primary not be available or is on vacation.
Ongoing costs associated with Ember are offset by a gracious donation made by the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation. The food and veterinary bills are covered over what will be the course of Ember's career at CMH, approximately 10 years. The hospital is also in discussions with the University of Guelph's School of Veterinary Medicine to study the potential impact of the facility dog on both staff and Ember, herself.