Therapy Dog Program
Hospital Therapy Dog Program
Volunteer therapy dogs visit with patients throughout Borgess Hospital's inpatient units and at the Borgess Cancer Center.
Therapy dogs benefits can include alleviating pain, anxiety and depression. Spending just 10 minutes with a therapy dog improves hospital patients’ overall well-being.
We rely on the generous support of our donors to support the program. Donations are used to ensure the dogs meet cleanliness standards before meeting patients, are able to provide a stuffed dog “twins” to their most special patients, have trading cards to disperse and are easily identifiable when in the hospital.
Therapy dogs benefits can include alleviating pain, anxiety and depression. Spending just 10 minutes with a therapy dog improves hospital patients’ overall well-being.
We rely on the generous support of our donors to support the program. Donations are used to ensure the dogs meet cleanliness standards before meeting patients, are able to provide a stuffed dog “twins” to their most special patients, have trading cards to disperse and are easily identifiable when in the hospital.
Behavioral Health Therapy Dog Program
The Behavioral Health Program seeks to purchase a full-time therapy dog that will visit with patients in our inpatient behavioral health ward, the Psychiatric Crisis Unit and our newly reopened Outpatient Adolescent Behavioral Health Clinic. Animal-assisted therapy aims to reduce or, in some cases, assist people in coping with certain symptoms associated with mental health disorders. Programs that incorporate animals into therapy have consequently grown to be essential parts of mental health care.