{"id":6987,"date":"2020-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=6987"},"modified":"2021-07-28T16:13:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T16:13:44","slug":"k9-officer-novas-bark-brightens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/k9-officer-novas-bark-brightens\/","title":{"rendered":"K9 Officer Nova\u2019s bark brightens the day for caregivers","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carmen Edwards<\/strong><\/p>\n

K9 Officer Nova and her handler, Security Officer Matt Wolfe, are part of MultiCare\u2019s K9 unit and start each day like many MultiCare caregivers \u2014 doing rounds.<\/p>\n

The 1-and-a-half-year-old sable German shepherd is eager for their first stop \u2014 usually MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, where Wolfe and Nova round inside and outside the hospital. Next, it\u2019s on to MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital to patrol the campus, Emergency Department and other areas.<\/p>\n

MultiCare\u2019s K9 unit specializes in creating a safe environment by defusing tense situations, detecting narcotics and patrolling the hospitals and grounds.<\/p>\n

Their charge is to keep caregivers, patients and visitors safe. Both Nova and Wolfe take that role seriously.<\/p>\n

Bonnie Bessner, RN, a nurse\u00a0at Tacoma General, says of Nova, \u201cSweet face, trusting eyes, but serious at her job. [She\u2019s] wonderful for staff safety.”<\/p>\n

Wolfe observes, \u201cNow with COVID-19, there has been less to do, considering the visitor restrictions, but Nova has found a place lifting the spirits of the medical staff with stress-reducing visits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Yarborough at Tacoma General Security calls Nova an essential MultiCare team member, saying that she ensures the security of all MultiCare\u2019s campuses and helps relieve stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeps us safe while bringing smiles\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety is just one part of what Nova does well \u2014 the bigger part, especially during these challenging times of COVID-19, is the effect she has on staff. Her presence calms and boosts morale every day for nurses, doctors and other MultiCare team members.<\/p>\n

“Nova keeps us safe while bringing smiles to all the staff,” says\u00a0Amisha Parekh, MD, an emergency services physician at Allenmore’s Emergency Department.<\/p>\n

“Nova has been an amazing addition,” says Tanya Copenhaver, a Tacoma General social worker. “She makes crisis situations less stressful for the social workers. And she always brightens my day!”<\/p>\n

Wolfe says Nova brightens the day for patients and visitors, too.<\/p>\n

But she also has a job to do, so Nova\u2019s black halter displays a bright yellow \u201cDo Not Pet\u201d message so visitors don\u2019t unknowingly reach out to pet her while she\u2019s working and following commands.<\/p>\n

Wolfe often uses hand signals to communicate and give Nova silent commands. While these commands may be invisible to the public, Nova understands that they\u2019re signals for her to alert on a specific situation. It\u2019s part of what makes Nova remarkable at safeguarding the staff.<\/p>\n

K9 training and bonding<\/p>\n

Last fall, Wolfe flew to Indiana to a facility that specializes in training police dogs to find the K9 partner he would work with at MultiCare. After a few days, Wolfe connected with Nova. They underwent almost four weeks of intensive training together, forming a strong bond. Although Nova was the youngest dog there, Wolfe proudly says she passed her certification test with flying colors.<\/p>\n

Nova\u2019s been on the job for just over four months and has an impressive record of code gray de-escalations, hospital evictions and patient visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s become our therapy dog\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

When Nova\u2019s not on alert and visitors or staff show interest, there\u2019s a special command Wolfe uses to let her know it\u2019s OK to be friendly. He says, \u201cGo say hi.\u201d It\u2019s Nova\u2019s signal that it\u2019s time to be social, and she\u2019ll eagerly greet people and get her pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider myself very lucky to have a K9 partner that is friendly enough to sit with a frightened child and then, with just a command, keep a staff member safe from a hostile person,\u201d Wolfe says. \u201cShe truly loves her job.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the staff, the sight of Nova and Wolfe on patrol provides an extra sense of security that\u2019s become especially important during this uncertain time.<\/p>\n

“Not only is she great for keeping the ED staff safe, she has become our therapy dog,” says Barbara Dyste, RN, a nurse\u00a0in the Tacoma General Emergency Department. “She decreases our stress. I love her working bark!”<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MultiCare\u2019s K9 Officer Nova helps create a safe environment and boosts morale every day for patients, nurses, doctors and other MultiCare team members.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-profiles-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nK9 Officer Nova\u2019s bark brightens the day for caregivers - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/k9-officer-novas-bark-brightens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"K9 Officer Nova\u2019s bark brightens the day for caregivers - 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