Is the Journey Over?

Hello everyone,

Wow!! Just to let you guys know, today marks the end of my sequence of courses in the Honors in Nursing program! This is both a very happy and sad accomplishment! Happy in that I will officially graduate from nursing school with an Honors in Nursing diploma. Words cannot describe how proud I am of this and have worked very hard to attain it. However, it is also sad because I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience with my honors professors, Dr. McGuinness and Dr. Gakumo, my fellow classmates, and especially my community partner, Hand in Paw.

My experiences throughout the course of this semester have been wonderful and particularly gratifying to say the least. My love for animals will always be a part of who I am, and I see the services offered by Hand in Paw as being very near and dear to my heart. I have seen positive patient outcomes at many different facilities with a multitude of illnesses and complications of variable age groups.

I have reiterated Hand in Paw's mission statement many times throughout the semester, but would like to address it again because of the importance of the statement: "To improve the health and well-being of children and adults by serving those with physical, emotional, educational, or psychological needs through interactions with professionally-trained Animal-Assisted Therapy Teams." This is such a POWERFUL initiative and to think that it originated from one person's passion (Beth Franklin, founder of HIP) and love for animals and their affects on the human condition is breath taking. This, in itself, motivates me as a student nurse and supplies me with the confidence I need to know that NOTHING is impossible!!

Although the semester has come to a close, I am definitely going to continue my work with Hand in Paw and my contribution to the organization regarding the infection control rubric that I formulated. There is so much more for me to experience and lives to touch through the comfort of animals that one measly semester will not suffice. Honestly, I would not be satisfied if I stopped now. My goal as a registered nurse will be to effect a great change within the patient population and to improve their outcomes through care, love, and patient advocacy. So, to answer the question, NO! My journey is not over with Hand in Paw. As a matter of fact, it has just begun.....

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it."
-Greg Anderson

      

Spain Rehabilitation Center

Hi guys,

I have not forgotten about you, although it may seem as if I haven't posted a blog in forever. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

So...this week, I was able to go to the Spain Rehabilitation Center. Wow! So much to tell! This was a slightly different atmosphere than what I had been used to, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The therapy team that I was with was Cindy and her dog Sally (picture below). Yet again, another wonderful Hand In Paw therapy team. We visited two gyms within the facility (the East and West Rehab Gym). Sally's role at each visit is variable. Sometimes Sally is involved in therapy with the patients and other times she simply visits with them, which leads to multiple accounts of patients telling stories about their own pets or past pets. As Sally interacted with the patients, I saw that for that particular moment, it allowed the patients to escape to somewhat of another world...a comfortable, familiar world without obstacles or pain.

Luckily, I was able to watch Sally involved in an actual therapy. Sally was placed on a table on top of a white sheet and the patient stood up from the wheelchair, walked toward Sally, and began petting her. The patient's wife really enjoyed watching her husband. You could look in her face and tell that she was extremely happy and proud, and also took pictures of him while the therapy was taking place. This is a prime example of how animal-assisted therapy not only affects the patients, but also their families. Not to mention, the nursing staff LOVES Sally. She lightened the mood, put smiles on their faces, and they also began to relate to their own pets. One nurse specifically recounts a time when he was three years old and had fallen in a lake. Someone's dog alerted his owner that something wasn't right, and the owner was able to get to him just in time. Because of this dog's heroic gestures, the nurse's life was spared. Sally makes a way for the nurses to momentarily find an escape, as well.

On another note, this was my first time observing animal-assisted therapy in speech therapy patients. Before Sally interacted with the them, they had been relatively quiet. However, once they began petting Sally, the patients began talking more and opening up! The powers of our little furry friends over the human condition is incredible!

When time was up at Spain Rehab, we walked over to UAB hospital because a patient had put in a special request for an animal-assisted therapy visit. He had said that when he was in the nursing home, he really enjoyed the visits from the animals and would like to continue the trend. Oh boy, how happy he was to see Sally!! I think he would have kept  her for himself had he been given the chance.  It was evident in his eyes that Sally's visit made his day.

At both the Spain Rehab and UAB hospital, infection control measures were strictly enforced, and they all had been followed perfectly. Cindy made sure that the patients were administered hand sanitizer before and after visits, and sheets were placed for Sally to lay on in appropriate situations. Sally was clean and properly groomed, nails trimmed, etc. Cindy says that her strength in regards to infection control is making sure that Sally is properly groomed and clean, adding that she wipes her down following each visit. Interestingly, Hand In Paw did not always use hand sanitizer before visits, but only after visits. When the "before rule" was put into place, Cindy remembers feeling a little embarrassed to ask the patients to use hand sanitizer because she did not want to insult them in any way, which is completely understandable. However, she said when you look at the big picture, sanitizing hands is very important in the prevention of infection. So she simply tells the patients that it is part of policy to sanitize hands before and after visits alleviating a lot of the embarrassment. Although Cindy feels as if she is pretty conscious about her infection control measures, she would still be willing to go to a focus-based class if developed.

I know this was a lot of information, but it was such a nice visit with many relevant things to my project. If you read the entire post (which I really hope you did) you are a trooper, and I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to read it! All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Spain Rehab Center with Cindy and Sally. Cindy is a great handler, and Sally is a great dog.

Quoted verbatim by one of the patients regarding Sally: "She has a face that says I can make anyone feel better." That pretty much sums it up...

Cindy and Sally

Quote from Spain Rehab Center

         

         

Nursing Home Experience

Hi everyone,

This week was another wonderful week with Hand In Paw. I got the opportunity to go to Kirkwood by the River yesterday, which is a nursing home located near the Irondale area. There were three teams: Janice, her husband Jim, and Dusty; Margie and Simon; and Philippa, her husband Frank, and Pippa. My experiences with going to many different facilities to observe the Hand In Paw teams "work their magic" have all been phenomenal.  However, I have to say that my experience at Kirkwood has been my favorite experience thus far! We visited the Alzheimer's unit, as well as the skilled nursing unit, which caters to older adults that are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury. It seemed as if their whole day suddenly changed with the arrival of the HIP teams. They became bright eyed and surprisingly, very attentive! Some were a little more hesitant to pet the animals than others. Nonetheless, they all seemed to enjoy the company of both the animals and the handlers. I noticed that many of the patients did not want the teams to leave, especially the animal lovers of the facility. Some of them would have sat and pet the therapy animals until they just couldn't pet them anymore. Also, the nursing staff had built a great relationship with the therapy teams, and I could tell that they were enjoying their company just as much as the residents were. It was truly an amazing experience! There was so much love, joy, and happiness in the air between the older adults, the nursing staff, and the HIP teams that it really made me realize the tremendous impact that these animals have on everyone around them.

The teams did a great job with infection control. All of the animals were clean, nails clipped/trimmed, etc., and the handlers also had hand sanitizer on them. I asked Janice and her husband, Jim, about their views on their infection control skills. They felt as though their skills were fine, but one weakness that they voiced was that they felt like they needed more hand sanitizer. They also voiced that they would be willing to go to a focus based class on infection control, if developed, in order to understand more about it.

On another note, CONGRATULATIONS to Janice, Jim, and Dusty for becoming the first Hand In Paw therapy team certified with a Pet Partner approved dog stroller. Both Janice and Jim had to pass their evaluations with Dusty alone, along with a portion of the evaluation that incorporated Dusty and the stroller. It has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen, and Dusty seems to take to the stroller quite nicely himself (picture below)!

Margie and Simon (left) & Philippa, her husband Frank, and  Pippa (right)

Janice and Dusty

 

Janice, her husband Jim, and Dusty (featured on HIP website)

Dusty in his Pet Partner approved stroller!

         

Children's Hospital

Hi guys,

I finally got a chance to visit a hospital this week (Children's hospital). It was such a great experience! I enjoyed every minute of it. There were four teams (pictures below), and we all sat in the lobby on the second floor and waited for children to come up and interact with the animals. Their faces lit up, as they always do, as soon as they saw the wonderful Hand In Paw therapy dogs. The parents of these children were thrilled, as well. They were so gracious to Hand In Paw for coming out and giving their family so much joy for that brief moment in time. As the children pet the dogs, they began to open up with their own unique stories as if they had known the HIP therapy teams forever. These dogs served as a means of comfort to these children and their families, and even the nursing staff seemed to gravitate toward the therapy teams.

Because this was my first time visiting a hospital with HIP, I was really interested in seeing the way that infection control was going to be implemented in that particular setting. Not only did the children have to have their hands sanitized before and after the entire interaction with the animals, they also made sure that the children (and parents) sanitized their hands after petting EACH animal! In other words, they could not pet another therapy dog until  their hands had been sanitized from petting the dog before. What a great rule! This, alone, can dramatically decrease the risk of microorganisms being spread from one source to another. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was worn as appropriate for the child's condition. Some children did not have to wear any masks or gowns, while others may have worn a mask, gown , and gloves. The teams did an excellent job as far as infection control during this visit, including  making sure the dogs were properly bathed, nails cut, etc.

On a very positive note, Beth Franklin and her dog promise, the founder of Hand In Paw, was one of the teams present at this particular visit! I got a lot of good information from her while waiting on the children to arrive. When asked about her infection control confidence, she stated that she feels as if her infection control skills are fine, but thinks that there is always room for improvement. She makes sure that she does not approach a child that is compromised unless proper precautions have been implemented, such as PPE mentioned in the above paragraph. She said that she would still be willing to attend a focus-based class, however, because it is important to polish up on your skills.

All in all, I would say that today was a very successful and gratifying experience with the HIP therapy teams! I look forward to many more visits in the future. Not just as someone shadowing the teams, but also as a TVA (therapy visiting assistant)!    
 

Beth Franklin and Promise (front) & Andrea and Nico (back)

                                                                                 

Beth Fuller and McGee

Tina and Chives

       

AAT and Children

Hi everyone,

So....I "thought" I was scheduled to go to Children's Hospital this Saturday at 12:45 pm. After calling twice, leaving a voice mail, then sending a text after no one had shown up, I finally got a response. The teams are scheduled to go on the SECOND Saturday of each month rather than the FIRST! Turns out I was a week early! So, my first hospital experience is put on hold, yet again. I have definitely confirmed my spot for next Saturday, however, and I am continuing to wait patiently. Because I had planned on going to Children's Hospital today, I thought I would post another animal-assisted therapy video for you guys, specifically on the effects that AAT has on children and their families. I hope you enjoy!!!

 

"Get Close, But Be Careful"

Hi guys!

Due to my schedule this week, I was unable to attend any visits. However, as I was looking through the book that was provided to us during the Pet workshop, I found a very interesting article regarding some of the misconceptions about animal disease transmission. Just to supply you all with some statistics, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that each year nearly 2 million patients in the U.S.get an infection in the hospitals. Out of those 2 million patients, 90,000 of them die as a result of their infection. So the question is...would it be safer for the patients if they were not exposed to animals during a time when patients are so susceptible to contracting a disease? The answer is no! According to Get Close, But Be Careful, "the benefits of interacting with animals far outweigh the small, easily preventable risks involved." To elaborate, Hand In Paw teams are required to meet certain criteria prior to a therapy visit, such as bathing the dog 24 hours prior to the visit, making sure the nails are cut, etc. Before they can begin any time of visit, however, they must provide a record of the dog's vaccinations. These interventions and many more are designed in order to dramatically decrease the risk of infection. As the article states, there are many transmittable diseases that people are capable of contracting from animals. However, when precautions such as the ones I described above plus more are implemented, the risk of a disease being transmitted from the animal to the patient is very small.
This article also makes the point that knowing the way in which diseases are transmitted helps in applying the prevention measures applicable to that particular disease. For example, animals may contaminate our environment IF they are "not properly cleaned up, shed hair or dander, haven't been cleaned or groomed properly, or are not well and are shedding bacteria and parasites." Hand In Paw ensures that the therapy dog is well, and of course has the proper grooming in order to prevent infection.

To sum everything up, the following is a closing quote from the article: "You are much more likely to catch something from another person than from an animal - and that shouldn't stop you from getting close to other people. Get close, but be careful!"   

Pawsitive Living!

Hello everyone,

So, this week, I got the opportunity to go to Glenwood Autism and Behavioral Health Services this past Thursday. This was part of the Pawsitive Living program at Hand In Paw. It is a 12-week, curriculum based program serving at-risk youth (group of 7-9 year old boys with behavioral problems). That Thursday marked the half-way point (week 6) of the 12-week program. Although this was my first visit and I had not witnessed where the boys were behavior wise when the visits first started, the responses that were given Thursday night by the boys seemed like improvements were definitely being made in the boys' behavior as well as their perspectives on certain situations. As the boys entered the room, it was obvious that a strong bond had already been established between them and the therapy teams. It never ceases to amaze me the look of pure joy that takes over upon laying eyes on the therapy animals. I have seen for myself on multiple occasions the way these animals and their handlers make a difference in people's lives.

The topic for the night was stereotyping. After going around the room and each of us saying something that someone called us that we didn't like, the boys were given a picture of a cat. The task was to write down things inside the cat that they could control, such as their feelings and emotions, and write down things outside the cat that they couldn't control, such as other people's actions. The portion of the night that the boys really seemed to enjoy was when they were given stickers with adjectives like ugly, cute, slow, fast, clumsy,etc. and their job was to go around and label the therapy dogs according to what they thought. What we found was that the boys had a really hard time putting bad labels on the dogs, such as ugly. The underlying message in this activity was that just because people may label you with bad words, this does not mean that those words define you. What a great way to convey a message!

Also, Thursday night was the first night that I went to a facility that had more than one team. There was a total of 7 teams in all. One thing that I would like to point out is the way in which the teams interacted with each other. They all acted like family...all of them unified under a common ground: helping others with their furry friends. As far as my infection control rubric, all of the teams carried out infection control as appropriate for the situation. I got to talk to two therapy teams, Carrie and Spice and Carol and Hannah, about their views of infection control. I did not get the chance to ask all of the questions that I would have liked to ask due to time constraints; however, I made sure I asked what Carrie and Carol believed were weaknesses. Both teams believed that proper hand washing was definitely a weakness, and Carrie also added that if developed, she would definitely be willing to attend a short focus-based infection class on that subject. Hopefully the next visit, I will be able to get more in depth infection control information and continue to accumulate valuable responses from the teams. Stay tuned..... {pictures below}

Some of the therapy teams

                                                                   

Carrie and Spice (poodle)

Carol and Hannah