Baptist is Barking Up the Right Tree

Contact: Robby Channell, 601-968-5135 rchannell@mbhs.org

Jackson, Miss. - March 29, 2004--It's safe to say that patient care at Baptist is going to the dogs: highly lovable, trained, well-behaved pet therapy dogs, that is.

Two Baptist employees, Kathy Mason, a medical technologist in the microbiology lab, and Tina Magers, RN of Nursing Services, collaborated to start pet therapy at Baptist. Approved by the Medical Executive Committee in February, the program officially started llast month.

"Pet therapy involves using a certified pet therapy dog to bring joy and comfort to others," said Tina Magers. "Pet therapy has been proven to have many health benefits, including reducing blood pressure, reducing stress and pain indices." Pet therapy supports the Baptist Mission to create a caring healthcare environment for our patients, visitors and employees.

Tina's dog, Merlin, a Cocker Spaniel, and Kathy's dog, Maggie, a Border Collie, have both been making pet therapy visits in a number of healthcare facilities in the Jackson area. Maggie has been making pet therapy visits for more than four years. "It is just something I believe in," said Mason. "I can see the difference it makes on people's faces." Merlin started less than a year ago and has surprised Tina how much he enjoys it. "I knew Merlin liked meeting people and liked to go places, but I had no idea what he could really do until we gave it a try," she said.

Both dogs have had basic obedience and "Good Citizen" certification from the American Kennel Club. They are further trained and have passed the Therapy Dogs International (TDI) certification test. The TDI evaluation ensures that the dog has a pleasant, mild temperament; is not frightened around a crowd or medical equipment, tolerates rough handling and touching and demonstrates advanced obedience skills useful in a public setting.

The pet therapy program at Baptist will use only certified and trained pet therapy dogs to make patient visits. Prior to beginning, the dog and handler are required to take an orientation class in Baptist's Skill lab. Visits are made by appointment only, with the target population being long-term patients. An escort--someone not handling a dog during that visit--must assist each dog and handler team on the visits.

"It has been rewarding to see the therapeutic value of pet therapy in promoting the well-being of our patients," said Vice President for Patient Care Sallye Wilcox. "The staff have expressed how therapeutic it is for them personally, and how wonderful to see their patients respond in such a positive way."

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