Would you like to add Animal-Assisted Activities or Animal-Assisted Therapy at your health care facility?

Pet Partners is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams providing animal-assisted interactions. With the highest caliber curriculum in the industry, Pet Partners trains volunteers and evaluates them with their pets for visiting animal programs in hospitals, nursing homes, veterans’ centers, hospice, Alzheimer’s facilities, courtrooms, schools and other settings.

2. Determine Your Program Goals. • Is there a target client group you’d like to receive visits, such as those experiencing long stays or those who need motivation to participate in treatment?

• Are you looking to optimize exposure by having animals visit in waiting rooms and other common areas?

• Are you planning to incorporate animals as part of a therapeutic treatment, such as physical therapy?

• What is the ideal schedule for visits? Remember, Pet Partners teams are volunteers, and depending on the animal, preparing for a visit can be expensive and time consuming. Many successful programs start small and grow over time.

1. Educate Your Administration Animal-Assisted Therapy is not just good for the client, but good for the overall organization and staff. The most common concerns of health care administrators are safety and risk management.

• Pet Partners volunteers are covered by a primary commercial general liability insurance policy in the amount of $2M per occurrence.

• Pet Partner therapy animal teams abide by strict grooming guidelines which are performed a minimum of 24 hours prior to each visit, reducing the dander and hair which most commonly triggers an allergic reaction.

• Pet Partners teams all adhere to infection control protocols and only visit when both handler and animal are in good health.

• Pet Partners has a reputation for the highest standards among therapy animal organizations, requiring thorough screening every two years.

Animals have long proven to aid in a patient’s recovery, reducing stress, blood pressure and creating an atmosphere for the client which results in a happy, more cooperative patient; a patient who may feel good long after the visit has ended. So where do you begin?

3. Inform StaffStaff are important partners for volunteer teams visiting your facility. A staff orientation will build confidence and willingness to participate. This helps everyone know what the team may or may not do while visiting your clients and what they can reasonably expect when animals are onsite.

4. Find Teams that Share your GoalsPet Partners therapy animal teams are predominantly dogs, but we do register cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, pigs, horses, llamas and other animals. For more information about how to recruit teams, visit www.petpartners.org/facilities_info. Be sure to discuss your goals with your therapy animal teams.

THE PET PARTNERS DIFFERENCE • A handler alert to calming signals in their pet, trained to set their animal up for success through advocacy at all times. • A handler trained in conversational techniques to better relate to your client population. • A handler knowledgeable about infection control for themselves, their animal and the client. • A handler whose first priority is safety and recognizes when the visit may continue or when it should end. • A handler who carries $2M liability insurance while volunteering. • An animal that is reliable, controllable and predictable. • An animal that consistently responds to their handler’s commands, even in volatile situations. • An animal that is well-groomed and healthy.

www.petpartners.org