Pet Therapy “The Value of the Human Animal Bond in Healing”

Unconditional love. It has the power to heal, to strengthen, and to capture our hearts. The kind of love only animals can give – the kind our patients receive through the Atlantic Health System Pet Therapy Program. Our mission is to promote and enrich well-being in our communities through Animal Assisted Therapies by healing, teaching/training & education and research & evaluation.

Since the beginning of time, humans and animals have shared a powerful connection. As part of the healing culture at Morristown Medical Center, the hospital has a thriving pet therapy program for our patients, visitors and staff. Atlantic Health System’s pet therapy program Soothing Paws™, provides visits to Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children’s Hospital, Overlook Medical Center, Newton Medical Center and Chilton Medical Center. Our program at Morristown Medical Center has over 80 pet therapy teams, each made up of a hospital volunteer and their trained dog. Our teams visit most areas within the hospital, such as the ED, ICU, surgical waiting rooms, Pediatrics, Carol Simon Cancer Center, and the medical and surgical floors. We currently conduct approximately 45 hospital visits per week.

How is Pet Therapy part of a Healing Culture

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  The repetitive nature of petting a therapy dog has a lulling rhythmic effect that creates a meditative focus on a nonthreatening stimulus that recreates a relaxation response within the individual
  
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  Evidence has demonstrated that it has the potential to:
  

Increase feelings of calmness

Decrease sense of loneliness/isolation

Decrease pain during the interaction

Slow breathing

Decrease heart rate and blood pressure

Improve communication, interaction and attention

Improve oxygen saturation

Through the Soothing Paws™ program, approximately 125 visits are filled each month by our certifying organizations. Each visit on average will last an hour, with some lasting 1 ½ - 2 hours. The number of patients seen during an hour’s visit is approximately 12 (spend 5 minutes per patient); plus, all the staff and visitors walking by th e teams, totals 1,500 patients visited each month. 18,000 individuals were exposed to animal visits at Morristown Medical Center in 2014.

Soothing Paws™ is expanding to be part of The National Center for Animal Assisted Therapy at Atlantic Health System, with the goal of adding Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) into the patient’s plan of care. There are fundamental differences between Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) and AAT. AAA is essentially a program of brief, informal meet-and-greet visits conducted by volunteers and animals meeting specific criteria. AAT, however, is a goal-directed, charted and evaluated intervention utilizing the same qualified volunteers and animals but directed by a specialized health professional within the scope of his or her profession. AAT is designed to promote patient-specific improvements in physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning.

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  Happiness and pain management through pet therapy visits in acute care and rehab facilities.
  
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  The relationship of animal assisted therapy (AAT) on biomarkers of stress, the immune response, and measures of adaptation in adult hospitalized patients and visitors who may be a family member or close friend.
  
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  Ambulation increase with animal assisted therapy in patients with heart disease.
  
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  The use of pet therapy to provide psychosocial support and lasting coping skills for children.
  
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  A pipeline of future ideas which may include: measuring the benefit of pet therapy visits to staff (RUFF Days), community outreach and education related to pet ownership or pet therapy, or expanding the ambulation program to assisted living or nursing home environments.