National Nursing Week

8 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2022 NATIONAL NURSING WEEK MAY 9-15, 2022 #WeAnsWerTheCAll DYNAMIC DUO BRINGS JOY TO STAFF AND PATIENTS BY ESTEFANIA WUJKIW "Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them." – Thom Jones I n a year filled with uncertainty, isolation and loss, many Manitobans have turned to the unconditional love and support of their furry friends. At HSC Winnipeg, where health-care workers have dedicated themselves to the care and support of Manitoba's sickest patients throughout the pandemic, specially trained dogs and their handlers have also been working hard to provide comfort and support to staff working on the front lines. Maurita Kiesman has devoted the past three decades of her career to caring for the sick and the injured as an intensive care nurse at HSC Winnipeg. "I have found nursing to be a very rewarding yet, at times, all-consuming profession. It has given me the opportunity to see many aspects of life," says Kiesman, who formally retired in 2019 but maintained her role as a bedside nurse. "I'm a very experienced ICU nurse but there were days when it was so overwhelming to come into the ICU. I have never, in my life, witnessed some of the things I witnessed over these past two years." One of the biggest impacts COVID-19 had on the ICU, according to Kiesman, was the sheer amount of patient movement required not only into but also within the unit because patients were incredibly sick. "Over the course of a 12-hour shift, there were many moving pieces, and while staff are trained to deal with life-threatening situations, each loss is felt deeply by the care teams and that emotional weight can be heavy," Kiesman says. Helping staff cope with their experiences is the job of HSC's Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, a group made up of HSC staff who have received training specific to critical incident stress management and who volunteer their services. In the summer of 2021, the CISM team partnered with St. John Ambulance to begin offering animal therapy visits to staff at the facility. Kiesman jumped at the opportunity to support her co-workers in a new and different way, becoming a certified pet therapy visitor alongside her four-legged friend Lincoln, a nine-year-old golden doodle. Together, the duo visit staff in clinical areas of HSC every two weeks. "When I come in with Lincoln on my time as a volunteer and I see people, their faces light up behind their masks," Kiesman says. "He is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter if it's someone in a leadership position or someone who answers the door, his affection is equal no matter the role." During some visits, Kiesman shares, staff who had been overcome with emotion due to the events of the day were offered immediate comfort by Lincoln's presence. "On those days, it was the most rewarding job I have ever done in my life," Kiesman says. The weight of responsibility for a patient's outcome and the sense of comfort offered by a few moments of unconditional love and kindness are both things that Kiesman knows well from personal experience. "During the pandemic, there were shifts when I would have to sit in my car in the parkade afterwards to unwind, but when I drove up to my house, I'd see that big, fluffy tail wagging in the window and I would walk in to be greeted by my own therapy dog." Estefania Wujkiw is a senior communications specialist at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg – Shared Health. REGISTERED PSYCHIATRIC NURSES The CRPNM is the regulatory body for the psychiatric nursing profession in Manitoba crpnm.mb.ca Professionally educated to help Manitobans achieve the highest possible level of mental health. Their contributions to our community are vital, and often surprising and unique. INTENSIVE CARE NURSE MAURITA KIESMAN SHARES A SMILE WITH HER DOG LINCOLN, A CERTIFIED PET THERAPY VISITOR, AT HSC WINNIPEG. PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY. At HSC Winnipeg, where health-care workers have dedicated themselves to the care and support of Manitoba's sickest patients throughout the pandemic, specially trained dogs and their handlers have also been working hard to provide comfort and support to staff working on the front lines.

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