COOPERSTOWN – Four new names are about to become well known around Bassett Hospital. Zoya and Penny, both golden retrievers, Jax (full name Crackerjax), an Australian shepherd, and Romeo, a border collie, are all part of Bassett’s new pet therapy program, and they are all looking to bring a smile to a patient’s face.
Dr. Marina Bravin, a dermatologist at Bassett and owner of Zoya, worked to bring pet therapy to Bassett after witnessing her mother’s own experience. “I always thought it would be a fun thing to do,” she said. “My mom was a patient at a hospital where they had a pet therapy program. I saw how well she responded and I wanted to bring the same program here.” Bravin had the full support of Bassett’s leadership, who find the evidence regarding the benefits of pet therapy encouraging.
Researchers have been collecting information to confirm the benefits of hospitalized patients visiting with licensed therapy dogs. It has been documented that interaction with pets can help reduce a patient’s pain and improve his or her well being, as well as lower blood pressure, promote relaxation, relieve agitation, anxiety and stress, and improve communication.
“The therapeutic use of pets makes sense in a health care setting where patients are often anxious,” said Chief Operating Officer Bertine McKenna, Ph.D. “The animals are a source of comfort and positive focus, and we’re glad to be able to offer this new program to our patients.”
“It’s just the most gratifying thing you can do,” said Vivian Beckmann, Jax’s owner, of pet therapy. Mrs. Beckmann and Jax have been paying visits to hospitals and nursing homes for six years now, and they have consistently been met with incredible responses. “In a nursing home in Massachusetts,” said Beckmann, “we had a woman who had never been out of her room in seven years. And then one day, she came out to see Jax.”
Pet therapy will be offered at Bassett’s Cooperstown campus Monday through Friday. Before meeting with the dogs, each patient must sign a consent form. Upon doing so, they will spend time with the animals in a designated common area.
Bassett requires therapy dogs to be completely healthy with up-to-date shots, undergo a yearly physical examination by a veterinarian, and registered with Therapy Dogs International. The dogs must also be bathed within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital, and they must be obedient, calm, and responsive to commands.
“These dogs will bring the comfort of home to our patients,” said Nancie Apps, director of Service Excellence at Bassett. She, like Mrs. Beckmann and Dr. Bravin, has her own personal experience with pet therapy. When her granddaughter was seven, she broke her arm and was taken to a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, where a pet therapy program was in place. “It was such a great experience,” said Apps. “To this day, what my granddaughter remembers about breaking her arm isn’t the pain or the trauma, but the dog they had at the hospital.”
Hopefully, visits with the four dogs who are soon to become household names at Bassett, will be part of what patients take away from their stays, or sources of comfort and happiness in their day. Mrs. Beckmann’s past experiences with the children and adults Jax has spent time with certainly seem to indicate they will be. “The smiles,” she said, “on these people’s faces, you just wouldn’t believe.”