Whether it’s a patient who is recovering from surgery or a staff member who needs a bit of stress relief on a busy day, the Reading Heath System’s Paws for Wellness animal-assisted program has helped hundreds of people reconnect, relax, communicate and heal.
“The program is designed to give patients what they need,” says Maryjo Brown, Director of Paws for Wellness and Clinical Coordinator of Therapeutic Services. “When we’re close to animals there is a comfort. Because humans are social, we’re drawn to animals. Those roots are very deep.”
Paws for Wellness began in the early 1990s after Brown read about The Delta Society and its work on the West Coast with elderly patients. “It brought my two passions together – behavioral health and a love for animals,” she says, adding the program was formalized in 2001 and has become a part of the treatment plan for many patients.
Today, Paws for Wellness has about 15 volunteers and 20 therapy animals, including dogs, cats, a rabbit, a couple of giant goldfish in a lobby aquarium and, at one time, even a cockatoo. The registered therapy animals and their handlers visit specific hospital units during scheduled visits, but individual patient visits are also available, Brown says.
The therapy animals, full of love, acceptance and non-judgment, are particularly beneficial for geriatric and dementia patients, as well as psychiatric patients, who often feel rejected and misunderstood. They also provide comfort to patients recovering from strokes, heart attacks, surgery or trauma, Brown says.
“The interaction can be as simple as being in the same room, to petting and holding, to actually playing with the animals,” Brown says. “They have a calming effect that’s very therapeutic.”
