Bluegrass Care Navigators is excited to announce that one of our therapy dogs, Grace, has a new home in Hazard, KY. Grace, a Golden Retriever, will visit our patients in the Greg and Noreen Wells Hospice Care Center, as well as visiting patients in the home, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
“Over the next few weeks, Grace will get to know those who care for her, and will make occasional visits to the office to meet her human teammates,” said Whitney Clay, integrative medicine coordinator at Bluegrass Care Navigators.
Grace had to go through extensive training to be a therapy dog, including testing to review how well she interacts with people and her obedience. Not every animal is qualified to be a therapy animal, which is why there's such extensive testing.
Studies have shown that animal assisted therapy can help people recover from a range of health problems. For example, patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease can benefit from the socialization and activity associated with animal visits. They can also offer stress relief, comfort and affection.
Animal assisted therapy is just one of the programs included in the organization’s Bluegrass Integrative Medicine program.
Headquartered in Lexington, Bluegrass Care Navigators provides hospice care in 32 counties across central, eastern and northern Kentucky. In addition, the agency supports those facing serious illness or chronic disease with private duty nursing, home primary care, transitional care, adult day health care, and adult and pediatric palliative care services.
Bluegrass Care Navigators is joining an evidenced-based program for its employees to openly and honestly discuss the most challenging emotional and social issues they face in caring for patients and families.
