Dog therapy provides ECRMC patients with a healing experience
EL CENTRO — Among the wave of doctors, nurses, staff and volunteers navigating through the halls of El Centro Regional Medical Center to serve and care for patients on Thursday was Tiaki.
While he hasn’t found the cure for any major diseases (yet), the volunteer drew immediate adoration from both ECRMC personnel and patients alike as he made his way down the hall to a patient’s room.
At bedside, Tiaki had no clipboard or medicine in hand—just a simple smile and a coat of black fur ready to be petted.
“He comes and gets loved and adored,” Holtville resident Sharon Westerfield said as she held onto Tiaki’s leash. “It’s a real tough life.”
Westerfield and her 55-pound black standard Schnauzer have been volunteering as a pet therapy dog team at ECRMC since 2014.
For the past four years, the pet handler and her dog have been making their rounds to at least 15 patient rooms typically once a week.
Tiaki’s service as a therapy dog has served as an innovate therapy method that helps patients heal faster, as well as providing a mood boost throughout the hospital, ECRMC Marketing and Volunteer Services Director Rosanna Lugo explained.
“Patients or visitors and even staff, they’ll be focusing on their duty — whatever they were working on — and as soon as they see the dog, it’s like magic,” Lugo said. “She’s walking by and everybody’s like, ‘Wow, the dog.’”
A number of studies done at universities around the country, Westerfield explained, show that petting a therapy dog lowers blood pressure.
Additionally, petting a therapy dog can reduce pain and anxiety levels, as well as provide calmness, for a patient who is hurting, Westerfield said.
“And actually, the staff needs it as much as the patients half the time,” she added.
Westerfield explained that her dog is suitable for all patients, and can, for example, provided therapy for a stroke patient if he or she pets Tiaki with an affected arm.
Each morning, ECRMC nurses take a count of which patients —a list which usually amounts to 15 — would like to be paid a visit by Tiaki.
“Some of them don’t like that because they think he’s actually going to do therapy with them — you know, like walk on them,” Westerfield said. “But no, that’s not what we do. If you’re stuck in there and you don’t have anything to do but think about what hurts, or think about what surgery is coming up, all of a sudden you can think about something else other than that.”
It’s mandatory that Tiaki be washed 24 hours before even stepping into ECRMC to get him as a clean as possible.
Extra sanitary precautions are taken once the Schnauzer is actually in the room, as patients, and Westerfield, must apply hand sanitizer before and after petting Tiaki.
After the trainer-pet duo introduced themselves to a female patient on Thursday, Westerfield proceeded to pull up a chair to the bedside — a standard procedure as Tiaki, at 55 pounds, has a difficult time getting himself on the bed.
“Once he gets in the bed with patients, he wants the cuddles,” the trainer said. “He absolutely lives for them. He thinks that’s the greatest things in the world.”
While Tiaki offers himself as a warm body to cuddle with, Westerfield explained that some patients even take the time to talk to him (both in English and Spanish) to alleviate some of their thoughts.
“Although he doesn’t speak, you have to pet him, because he doesn’t understand if you don’t,” the trainer said.
The marketing and volunteer services director explained that Tiaki is one of three patient therapy plans, including aroma and musical therapy, which the hospital is proud to provide.
“It makes everybody feel better,” Lugo said. “Even if they’re waiting to be seen to get lab work done or another exam, or they’re in the lobby, they kind of calm down because of the music that’s there, they see our dog walk by with Sharon and then its smells good. So combine the three of them, and it makes a better experience for them when they’re here.”