ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Healing with Pets

Sep 16, 2014 at 07:31 pm by bryan


For a long time dogs have been considered man's best friend but now there's a program to help people in other ways too. Over a year ago Maury Regional Medical Center launched their pet therapy program.

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This program is through Pet Partners and is part of their patient-driven healthcare initiative. This type of care focuses on the relationship between the patient and health care staff. Being able to better communicate with the patient, they are able to provide better treatment. The pet therapy animals have to meet a lot of standards before they are able to go into the hospitals. Pets in the hospitals provide emotional support for patients in times of sickness and healing.

Director of Volunteer Services Cindy Fox says that the program has been a success since it's launch. "Any day that we can bring a smile to a patient's face here at Maury Regional is a very worthwhile program," Fox said. Maury Regional Medical Center is one of the only hospitals in Middle Tennessee with a pet therapy program.

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