Joy has Arrived! Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation Welcomes Full Time Service Dogs at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital

The MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital will welcome two specially trained, pediatric, in-residence dogs, Baskin and Agnes, to support kids battling illness on September 23

Charleston, SC (September 18, 2020) – As part of the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation’s Dogs for Joy program aimed at increasing the number of full-time service dogs in children’s hospitals nationwide, the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and the Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion will welcome Baskin, a one-year-old golden retriever, and Agnes, a two-year-old golden doodle at a celebration on September 23 at 10:30 a.m. Baskin and Agnes are two of over 15 full-time Foundation granted pediatric service dogs in over a dozen children’s hospitals across the country. With the new addition of Baskin and Agnes, the Children’s Hospital is welcoming highly specialized dogs that will help ease anxiety and reduce stress for young patients and their families.

Baskin and Agnes are trained to do incredible tasks like keep kids calm during medical procedures, teach kids how to take a pill, or model how to put on a hospital gown. Baskin and Agnes can help lower anxiety and stress for pediatric patients and encourage them to complete their health care goals. The dogs’ calming presence not only aids with patients but will also provide support to family members.

“We are thrilled to welcome Baskin and Agnes to our hospital community and to be able to offer animal-assisted therapy to our pediatric patients,” said Mark A. Scheurer, M.D., Chief, Children’s and Women’s Services. “Baskin and Agnes will be integrated into a child’s treatment plan and it will ease the stress when a young patient needs medical procedures by providing a calming and friendly presence.”

“These special dogs not only bring joy to children battling illness but serve an important role within a child’s treatment team. By joining the children’s hospital team, Baskin and Agnes will provide comfort and joy to hundreds of pediatric patients and their family members,” said Kari McHugh, Executive Director of the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. “The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation is always seeking ways to help kids feel like kids, even on their most difficult days. Nothing brings joy more than four paws, a wet nose, and a wagging tail.”

To learn more about the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation and its Dogs for Joy program, visit www.bringjoy.org and follow on Facebook or Instagram.

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About the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation
The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, the charitable foundation supported by Dunkin’ and the generosity of its franchisees, guests, vendor partners, and employees, provides the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness. The Foundation partners with food banks, children’s hospitals, and nonprofit organizations to fund joyful environments and joyful experiences for kids when they need it most. Since 2006, the Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $26 million to hundreds of national and local charities across the country. For more information, please visit www.bringjoy.org.

About MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion

The MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital (SJCH) consists of 250 beds and opened in February 2020 as a replacement facility for the MUSC Children’s Hospital built in the late 1980s and formerly located on Ashley Avenue. More than 200 care team members, MUSC leaders, administrators, family, and patient representatives were instrumental in the concept, design, and building of this facility. By providing the most advanced pediatric care possible in more than 26 specialty areas in person or through a robust telehealth network, SJCH includes a Level 1 trauma center and emergency department, the state’s only pediatric burn center and solid-organ and bone marrow transplant programs, the state’s largest Level 4 neonatal intensive care unit, an advanced maternal-fetal medicine center, and a top 10 ranked U.S. News & World Report children’s heart program which functions through a nationally-unique, statewide collaboration of pediatric heart surgeons and cardiologists.

Housed within the SJCH, the Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion (PTWP) seamlessly integrates children’s care and obstetrical services, thereby enhancing safety and improving outcomes in high-risk pregnancies. We understand that everyone plans on a healthy, normal birth, and for those who have that outcome, we want them to enjoy our top-notch labor and delivery care. Not all families have this opportunity, and they too, deserve a place of compassion, expertise, and excellent care. Working collaboratively with the advanced maternal-fetal care center for families expecting babies with complex congenital birth defects and medical problems, PTWP care providers will be one of only a handful of teams in the country able to offer couplet-care rooms, where newborns and mothers can recover together in an intensive-care setting.