Part of the Dogs on Call team, therapy pup Emma uplifts patients at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. (Photo courtesy Center for Human-Animal Interaction)
Hospital stays can be difficult for patients and their loved ones, often eliciting fear and anxiety, especially in younger individuals. These emotions can easily take over, but hospitals around the region have programs in place, many led by volunteers, to alleviate some of that stress and create moments of joy.
At the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, the pitter-patter of paws coming down the hallway creates an atmosphere of excitement among patients, visitors and staff. These four-legged guests stop by weekly courtesy of the nonprofit Center for Human-Animal Interaction. “Our Dogs on Call teams, it’s as if they’re members of The Beatles when they’re walking through the hospital,” says Nancy Gee, executive director of the center and a professor of psychiatry at VCU.
The Center for Human-Animal Interaction is working to improve the well-being of people via human-animal relationships through research, education and providing services including the Dogs on Call program. For 21 years, the volunteer-run program has been connecting dogs with those in need of an uplifting moment.
Dogs and handlers that have gone through the necessary registration steps can participate in routine weekly visits to various areas of the hospital. Besides the scheduled route, parents or children can request a specific team to visit their room.
The visits bring cheer, whether patients are simply sitting and petting the dog or walking the dog using a dual-leash system that allows both the patient and handler to hold a leash.
About 80 Dogs on Call teams ensure as many patients as possible can enjoy the benefits of having a tail-wagging friend nearby. A dog’s ability to elevate a patient’s mood is just one of many advantages. When a patient interacts with a dog, it can lower cortisol levels, decrease blood pressure and reduce pain, Gee says.
“Their face transforms just for a moment,” Gee says. “They’re not thinking about their health situation or their pain. Just for that moment, they’re just a kid with a dog.”
The LOVEVOLVE Swaddle Mission program wraps newborns in multicolored blankets at Chippenham Hospital. (Photo courtesy LOVEVOLVE)
Chippenham Hospital is spreading love to the tinier set through the LOVEVOLVE Swaddle Mission program. HCA Healthcare is assisting program founder and local artist Sunny Stack Goode spread her message by giving a multicolored blanket to every newborn and their mothers.
“We’re able to provide this beautiful swaddle to families that may not have a lot of resources,” says Karen Shirley, director of women’s services at Chippenham. “It has the word ‘love’ printed all over it, and it’s really just about spreading that message of love and building healthy relationships.”
Goode came up with the idea for the blankets after facing challenges in her personal life and realizing the impact positive words can have on the human brain, creating a healing affect.
The soft cotton blankets hug the babies while serving as a visual reminder to parents that love is a key component of healthy bonds. Education is also a core focus of LOVEVOLVE. Along with the blanket, patients receive a card listing important relationship health resources including groups offering relationship advice, confidential helplines and domestic violence support centers.
Since its inception in 2020, more than 25,000 babies have been “wrapped in love” at area hospitals.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmondʼs Happy Wheels cart program distributes toys and activities to children at St. Maryʼs Hospital. (Photo courtesy Ronald McDonald House Charities)
Instead of serving up Happy Meals, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond provides Happy Wheels, a cart full of treats and other items that can be spotted rolling through the halls of Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital. The volunteer-run program visits four times a week.
“We go room to room to hand out toys, coffee, snacks, activities and other comfort items, to provide resources to families in the pediatric units,” says Diana Villarreal, director of volunteers and community engagement for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond.
All of the items found in the cart are donated to the program and handed out to families in all children’s care units, including the neonatal intensive care unit and the pediatric intensive care unit. Community members can check the online wish list to donate items including stuffed animals, blankets and more. Activity packs full of coloring books, crayons, puzzles and other fun pastimes are also appreciated.
“It’s an opportunity for the child to be a child and to get excited about a new deck of Uno coming in their room or a coloring book,” says Laura Gepford, child life specialist at St. Mary’s Hospital. “In between the testing and the imaging and the poking and prodding, they have the opportunity to just be a kid, and that’s so extremely important.”
Some of the cart’s items help provide distractions and promote togetherness among families, but other items can provide a different type of support.
“We can help provide some of those things families may need in the hospital but they may not have access to,” Villarreal says. “Maybe that is a snack because the family has really been focused on their child’s care and not been worrying about when they’re going to eat next.”
Gepford says St. Mary’s believes in connecting with the community at large, and the Happy Wheels program is a way for the hospital to create a more intimate, familial experience. The volunteers that run the cart provide a variety of resources to patients, caregivers, siblings and anyone who is there to support the patient.
“In between the hard stuff, the fevers, the medicine and all the difficult things that occur in the hospital, when you have those glimmers of happy moments, that’s what people hold onto,” Gepford says.
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