Pet Therapy Program Introduced at Reynolds Memorial Hospital
The Skilled Nursing Unit at Reynolds Memorial Hospital is proud to announce the addition of a new Pet Therapy Program aimed at providing our patients and our employees the proven benefits of interaction with a therapy animal.
Benefits of Pet Therapy
According to research done by the Mayo Clinic, these benefits include:
- Significantly reduced pain, anxiety, depression and fatigue in people suffering from a wide-range of health problems.
- Indications also show that pet therapy may have similar benefits for hospital workers, including lowering stress hormone levels, blood pressure levels and heart rate.
What Does the Visit Consist of?
The visits consist of individual time in each patient’s room, as well as group time in the Skilled Unit Activity Room.
The volunteers, whose dogs have been registered with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, have already begun their visits with great success. Patients greet our furry visitors with laughter, tears of joy and stories of their own pets at home.
A sincere and heartfelt “thank you” goes out to the Anderson & Montgomery families for their willingness to volunteer their time.
The Pet Therapy Program will continue throughout the summer.
Any questions, please call 304.845.3211.