WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-- The sight of a furry friend can make any day brighter, even in the hospital. That's why Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach just launched a therapy dog program.
"We were looking at ways we could impact healing, kind of out of the box and ways that were also supported by research. The research that we saw showed actually petting dogs not only makes people feel better but it actually has health effects of lowering blood pressure, and so those combined and knowing we have a big focus on oncology and with the community we thought that we’d get a lot of positive results from implementing this," CEO Tara McCoy said.
Right now they have seven certified therapy dogs that visit patients with volunteers twice a week. They hope to ramp that up to every day over time.
Jack Jacobs, brings his dog Patrick to visit patients. "When you see the look on some of these people's faces who are really suffering and when they see a dog for some reason they start smiling and it's great."
88-year-old Jacobs says it is very rewarding to visit patients and see those smiles. He says Patrick is a great companion.
Brenda Monse and her certified therapy dog Phoebe also enjoy visiting patients. "For that moment in time it gives them the opportunity to just get out of what they’re feeling and what they are going through medically."
Monse says her own experience with her dog while battling health issues made her want to help others. "I’ve always wanted to have a therapy dog to go out and make people’s lives a little bit better," she says. "I’ve had medical issues myself throughout my lifetime and she has, and my other golden retriever, have given me such love and support and just a feeling of calmness throughout my medical problems and I just wanted to do that for other people."
She says she likes being about to give others the same feeling. "I’ve had patients say 'when are you coming back?' and it's not just the dog, it's the company they get from the volunteer as well. Just to see a friendly face coming in with the dog and they have the chance to talk to us, and when we leave I get a sense that it perked up their day."
Susan and Max Hillson bring their certified therapy dog Sophie to the hospital. They too wanted to get involved after their own experience. Max says when he was in the hospital, "I had a therapy dog visit me and it was a really enjoyable, grounding experience. It brought me back- closer to where I should be if that makes sense."
Susan adds: "We love to hear people say you made our day, you made us feel better come back and visit again."
