No matter how supportive the care team or how comfortable the environment, being hospitalized is often an overwhelming experience for patients and their families. But what if all they needed to de-stress was a welcome distraction from a warm, friendly, and positively snuggly visitor?
The Nursing and Volunteer Services teams have been working hard to make that possible, and after months of meticulous development and an exciting debut during Penn Medicine Experience Week, the Presby Pooches: Leashes of Love pet therapy program has been launched! Extensive research shows that pet therapy is effective at alleviating stress, providing emotional support, and improving outcomes, and certified therapy dogs Lily and Isaac have started furthering these goals by visiting patients throughout the hospital.
On a recent trip to the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit, Isaac came across a patient named Ruth Frank. Better known by the ACE staff as “Grandmom,” Frank’s family has a longstanding relationship with Penn, not least because her son-in-law is Eliot Nierman, MD, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine. Clad in bright yellow socks and sporting hot pink nail polish, the 98 (and a half!) year-old Frank had been serenading her care team with show tunes from Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady when her daughter Bonnie Nierman spotted Isaac and his handler in the hallway.
“We never had a dog while I was growing up, but my mom loves everything and everyone,” Nierman said. “A tree, a fern, an animal – she just appreciates everything, so I knew she would enjoy meeting Isaac.”
Neirman invited the Presby Pooch and his handler into the room, and Ruth began singing again, this time with the head of a golden retriever resting contentedly on her lap. Needless to say, they got along famously, and it proved “a really wonderful experience.”
Naimah Cann, coordinator of Volunteer Services, was particularly taken by the visit, noting that “It was a very special moment, and it showed why ‘Leashes of Love’ is the perfect name for our program.”