COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M Veterinary Hospital surprised its veterinary technician staff with a new wellness space to keep their mental health in check.
“I personally have had three technician friends that have committed suicide, so this is kind of near and dear to my heart,” Certified Rehabilitation Technician Sherri Jerzyk said.
“The veterinary technician suicide rate is five times greater than the general population and two and a half times greater than a veterinarian.”
Baylie Bookhammer is a veterinary technician at the Texas A&M Vet Hospital in College Station.
She’s stunned to see the transformation of dedicated spaces for techs like herself.
“It is spectacular to say the least,” Bookhammer said.
“It is just breathtaking. I am taken aback by how much work Sherri has put into this place, and I am excited to use it in the future.”
Jerzyk is making it her mission to create a safe space for the vet techs.
“Part of the program is creating the keystone project which is geared towards mental health in some way,” Jerzyk said.
“Whether it’s for the clinic, for the client, for the patients. I decided I wanted my keystone project to be geared towards the mental health of the veterinary technicians.”
Jerzyk imagined the wellness space as being home away from home.
“I decided to create a mental wellness space not a breakroom per say but an area that was more life stepping out of the hospital and stepping home because that’s where we normally go when we are stressed,” Jerzyk said.
“We want to go sit on the couch, kick off our shoes and watch TV. The furniture, the water cooler, the tables, the snacks, every single thing in this space was donated by somebody a veterinarian technician has a made a difference in their pet’s life so that means even more to me.”
Bookhammer has been working at the hospital since 2020 and has been a full-time vet tech for two years.
It’s her connection to her patients and clients that keeps her going.
“It’s really nice to see how our patients are initially on presentation and then just kind of being part of that whole process of getting them to heal and go back to their owners and to just see the smile on their owner’s faces. It’s so heartwarming and it’s really gratifying,” Bookhammer said .
With every case being different, Bookhammer looks forward to the diversity on the job, giving her the opportunity to learn something new, but sometimes, she said the field can be pretty challenging mentally.
“You know we all have our moments in the bathroom where you kind of just take a step away and have a good cry and just let it out and just keep rolling with the punches, but this is definitely a great resource that we will be able to use in the future,” Bookhammer said.