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Admiral the Dog Visits NMCP Commander to Highlight Pet Therapy
Story Number: NNS130625-19
6/25/2013
By Seaman Bradley Shadowens, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- Naval Medical Center Portsmouth had a different type of admiral visit on June 21. The certified pet therapy dog, Admiral, a goldendoodle, met up with Rear Adm. Elaine C. Wagner, NMCP commander, and the Command Suite staff for petting, tail wagging and a few humorous dog stories.
Admiral is one of the many pet therapy dogs at NMCP, and of course, he enjoyed every second of his fawning spectators as they listened to the reason why his owners, Lt. Gregory Hall and Lt. Joyce Hall, introduced their therapeutic bundle of fur to patients at NMCP.
The Halls, who are entering their second year of residency at NMCP, Gregory in the Surgery program and Joyce in Internal Medicine, noted they bought Admiral as a puppy with the intention of getting him pet therapy certified.
"We worked in Bethesda and had a lot of contact with the wounded warriors there," said Gregory. "We saw the benefits of pet therapy, so when the time came to get a dog, we chose Admiral to be a pet therapy dog so he would have the ability to see our patients or anybody else's patients."
Pet therapy dogs work with psychiatric, traumatic brain injury, cancer and pediatrics patients among others where a helping paw is always appreciated.
At NMCP, Emily Silvia, who works in Biopsychosocial Services and helps administer the pet therapy program, was the first step in Admiral coming to work at NMCP.
After a pet is certified and a background check is done on the pet's behavioral and medical history, Silvia introduces the therapy dog with their new clinical environment. Silvia explained how therapy dogs affect patient treatment throughout the medical center.
"Therapy pets fill a lot of different roles in therapy," Silvia said. "It's just as therapeutic for the staff as it is for the patients. Cognitively, it gives patients a distraction to take their mind off of their pain. Physiologically, it brings emotions out of our patients. A lot of the times they have a difficult time talking about their emotions. When the dogs come in, it allows people to open up because dogs aren't so judgmental."
Silva explained a therapy dog's effectiveness, listing several that have been regulars at NMCP.
"Jasper is a young black lab and he has a lot of energy," Silvia continued. "He loves being around people, so most people around the hospital know him. He's been consistently coming for about a year or so. Braunsohn is a full-blood german shepard. His presence is very big, so he gets stopped around the hospital all the time. He's about eight years old and used to do protection work prior to therapy dog work. He can just come and hang out with the patients. Thatcher is an English golden retriever that works specifically with our traumatic brain injury patients. Brain injury care is typically outpatient, so while the other dogs have inpatient contact, Thatcher comes to our outpatient groups to hang out with our patients."
The impact of pet therapy treatment around NMCP has grown over the years, with more dogs coming to the medical center and more patients interested in seeing the dogs. As for Admiral, the job of certified pet therapy dog was a win-win. Nobody complained with a loveable ball of fur getting all the attention he wanted, leaving the command suite in good spirits after their adorable session with Admiral.
Those who are interested in bringing a pet therapy dog to NMCP can contact Silvia at (757) 953-4069 or emily.silvia.ctr@med.navy.mil.
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For more news from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, visit www.navy.mil/local/NMCP/.