Dialysis Dogs Program Implementation at Saint Joseph Hospital’s Outpatient Dialysis Clinic: Animal-Assisted Activity in the Dialysis Environment

Abstract

In recent years, interventions with animals in medical environments have become more prevalent and accepted as a unique approach to improving patient outcomes. Hospitals, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes often use animals as part of the therapeutic milieu. A wealth of benefits to patient well-being has been explored in the literature, as have the relative safety of animal activities in medical settings. In spite of these benefits and documented safety of such interventions, therapeutic activities with animals in dialysis settings have not become common, nor have such programs been explored in the literature as a therapeutic adjunct for dialysis patient care. In 2006 and 2007, following parameters developed by and in partnership with volunteer teams trained through the Delta Society, the social workers at the outpatient dialysis clinic at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, CA, successfully implemented a dog visitation program with 22 patients in the outpatient adult hemodialysis clinic. This article explores the design and implementation of this pilot program, as well as the impact of this unique approach for both patients and staff at the St. Joseph Hospital Renal Center.