Pet Therapy Helps Brighten Patients' Days at CVMC

Each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., Lily and Peggy arrive at the Citrus Valley Medical Center – Inter-Community Campus in Covina for their weekly visit. They start in the Transitional Care Unit (TCU) and then make their way around the other floors.  Lily and Peggy are not unlike the many dedicated volunteers who regularly take time out of their busy schedules to brighten patients’ days. There is, however, one major difference – Lily is a Belgian sheepdog and Peggy is her handler.

Lily visits the hospital through a partnership with Therapy Dogs International, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in New Jersey. The program at ICC is coordinated through the hospital campus’s volunteer program, which is overseen by Tiffany Villegas, the director of Volunteer Services.

“The response has been very, very positive for both patients and staff,” said Villegas, who performed the final steps necessary to implement the program after a previous director had begun the process. “It’s not only therapeutic for the patients, but also for the employees.”

Volunteer Mary Skavinski of West Covina chairs the pet therapy program at ICC. Each week she checks ahead of time to see which patients Lily and Peggy will visit. She said Lily has been trained not to lick or sniff, but rather to approach the patient and put her head up to allow herself to be petted. Lily is a big hit, she said, and not just with the patients.

“It’s been wonderful,” Skavinski said. “The nurses love it and it really makes the patients’ day.”

While the visits originally took place only in patient rooms, ICC recently began incorporating pet therapy into the group program in the TCU, which consists of patients whose health is improving and are getting ready to go home.

As more dogs and handlers become available,  plans call for the program to begin at other Citrus Valley Health Partners facilities.

“It’s really a neat program and you can really see the power of pets,” Skavinski added. “Unconditional love – that’s really what the dog is for. To give love.”

Citrus Valley Health Partners is comprised of Citrus Valley Medical Center – Inter-Community Campus, Citrus Valley Medical Center – Queen of the Valley Campus in West Covina, Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora and Citrus Valley Hospice in West Covina.