Minnesota-Based Essentia Health Now Seeking Pet Therapy Teams

Anyone who has spent time in a hospital knows the particular weight of the place. The quiet hallways, the waiting, the hours that stretch longer than they should. It is a hard environment to be a patient in, and it turns out it is a hard environment to work in, too.

Which is why a wagging tail coming around the corner can change the entire feel of a room.

Essentia Health has seen that firsthand across its hospitals, and now the Minnesota-based health system is putting out a call for more of it.

They are looking to welcome additional pet therapy teams — dogs and their humans — to visit patients, families and staff.

It Started With A Book And A Dog Named Cruz

Kala Pedersen signed up as an Essentia hospice volunteer after reading a hospice nurse's memoir about end-of-life care.

During her meeting with the program supervisor, she mentioned how much she loved spending time with her dog, Cruz. That offhand comment sparked an idea.

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Cruz, described by Pedersen as a "Lab, border collie, beagle and some sort of herding dog mix," was certified as a therapy dog through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. He is an active 7-year-old who loves running with Pedersen and her husband, Alex Rogers.

But the running dog and the working dog are two different animals, and that may be his greatest gift.

"I think the best way to describe Cruz is he can read the room, which is a really unique characteristic in a dog," says Pedersen, who is also a community and strategic relationship manager at Essentia. "When we're in a healthcare facility or at the library, he's just chill. He'll lay down and get scratches."

That library reference is not a throwaway. Cruz is also a regular at the Duluth Public Library's "read to a dog" program, where nervous young readers practice out loud on a listener who will never correct them.

The Patients Love It. So Do The Nurses.

Pedersen says the reaction inside Essentia facilities has been the same whether it comes from someone in a hospital bed or someone finishing a twelve-hour shift.

That response has been consistent enough across Essentia's other hospitals that the system decided it needed more teams.

Essentia operates 14 hospitals, 80 clinics and more than 16,000 employees across Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, so there is a lot of hallway to cover.

How To Get Your Dog Involved

If you have a dog with a calm streak and a few hours to give, Essentia wants to hear from you. Details on the program and the application are available on Essentia's volunteer webpage. Certification through an organization like the Alliance of Therapy Dogs is the path most teams take.

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I love to write about animals, especially dogs, even when faced with the ones that make you angry at people. This is the other kind. This is a dog whose entire job is to walk into the worst day of somebody's life and make it about five percent better.

If your dog has that in them, somebody in a waiting room is hoping you make the call.

Essentia Health Volunteer Requirements

Volunteers need to commit to a regular schedule for at least three months, pass a background check, and some locations require volunteers to be at least 18. Orientation and training come from Essentia. Certification through a group like the Alliance of Therapy Dogs handles the other half of the team.

Essentia Health offers volunteer opportunities in its hospitals, long-term care, and assisted living facilities. Below is the current list of Essentia Health hospitals:

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