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