What good news! It couldn’t have given us more joy. And the only public hospital in Ibiza is going to allow dogs to visit their humans when they are admitted there. The first hospital in the country to allow it!
This initiative, which was inaugurated today, July 10, 2017, has been a project of the Patient Safety Unit of the Ibiza and Formentera Health Area with Dr. Paz Merino at the helm, head of the Intensive Medicine Service and the Patient Safety Unit. The ICU of the Ibiza hospital becomes the only Intensive Medicine service in Spain with three quality certifications. Doctor Merino’s objective from the beginning has been to humanize the hospital as much as possible, with the patient’s comfort being her absolute priority. That is why the idea arose to carry it out now. Why wait? The bond that many patients have with their dogs is known , so for months they have been working with the idea of carrying it out and trying to make it a reality.
Together with his team, they began to knock on doors to move forward with this initiative, since they did not even consider having financing from the Ministry of Social Security. To do this, they first met with health professionals to discuss what they thought of the idea, and once there was unanimity and enthusiasm, they took the step of contacting a canine trainer and the college of veterinarians of the Balearic Islands, inviting them to participate in this project to which They named it » Dogspital » to ask for their altruistic collaboration and that was it.
Together with them they created a canine visit protocol that consists of:
- The patient demands to be able to see his dog.
- Fill out an application to get your vet and trainer started.
- On the one hand, the veterinarian will confirm that the dog is up to date on its vaccination and deworming schedule and that it is free of possible infections (dermatitis, otitis, etc.). Once the dog has passed the veterinarian’s evaluation positively, it is evaluated by the trainer.
- The trainer will visit the dog at home to assess its personality and create a comfortable relationship with it because the same trainer will accompany the dog throughout the visit at the Dogspital.
- Once the trainer’s evaluation has passed, dates and times will be set for the visit.
- The dog will wear a bandana that certifies it as a «Visiting Dog»
- The dog will be accompanied by the trainer to the Dogspital at all times with the patient.
And the Dogspital, apart from giving the name to this entire project, is the name of the exclusive room that they have created in the hospital hall as a meeting point between dogs and humans so that they can have that reunion space without having to leave the hospital center. The patient may walk, in a wheelchair or on a stretcher depending on her situation. With the help of the trainer, you can control the dog’s possible excitement when seeing its human or the stress of being in a closed and unknown place. In addition, the dog will have water and snacks available for the duration of the visit.
This entire Dogspital project has above all been possible thanks to the altruism of veterinarians (there are more than 10 veterinary clinics that have offered to carry out dog evaluations for free thanks to the intervention of the College of Veterinarians of the Balearic Islands), from the Ibiza Agility Club and several companies that did not hesitate to contribute their bit to the infrastructure (Grup Soler, Graficsa, De Casa and Purina). Everyone who has gone to ask for collaboration has done so completely selflessly, which is why the «Dogspital» project has meant zero cost for the hospital.
And the benefits to the health of hospitalized patients thanks to therapy dogs are more than proven . And, exceptionally, in other hospitals where dogs have been allowed to visit their humans, they have been able to see how the patients improved much more quickly and there have even been cases of people who have woken up from a coma when they have received the visit from your furry friend.
We can only congratulate Doctor Merino and her entire team for having achieved this feat, which seemed impossible in this country that is not very Dog Friendly but which, with total security, will be the best example for other hospitals to join .
2 comentarios
buenos días familia:
como me ha gustado esta noticia! espero que no haya detractores que quieran echar por tierra todo este trabajo pues ya sabemos que, hay personas que no entienden según que cosas. Yo también creo que la visita de tu perro u otro animal mientras se está hospitalizado hace subir el estado de ánimo lo que provoca un cambio en la propia persona. Cuando me tocó estar hospitalizada tiempo atrás por neumonía, solo tenía una cosa en mente, mi pequeño Gus ( el hurón, por aquel entonces aun no tenía a Logan). Cuando mi pareja llegaba a casa, me llamaba por teléfono con el manos libre para que Gus escuchase mi voz y el pobre se volvía loco. Por suerte fueron pocos días pero lo echaba mucho de menos.
Después de contar mi experiencia personal quería comentar que hace cosa de 1 año creo, en un hospital de Barcelona ( en un pueblo de alrededor) estaba hospitalizado una persona la cual sus ganas de vivir eran pocas. Un dia, su enfermera ( o enfermero no lo recuerdo) vió como el hombre tenia un monton de fotos entre ellas de un perro, a lo que le preguntó. El perro era del paciente al que quería mucho. El enfermero, ante el bajo estado de ánimo del paciente, contactó con la familia para preguntar si sería posible que trajesen al perro al hospital ( en este caso en la zona exterior). Después de hablar con los supervisores y médicos del hospital, le dieron el visto bueno para sacar al paciente de su habitación y llevarlo a la calle. Una vez fuera, el hombre vio a su familia y junto a ello su perro. La alegría fue tan grande que en los días posteriores, la mejora que tuvo fue espectacular. Entre el poder salir de esa habitación, sentir el sol y ver a su perro, ese paciente fue mejorando por momentos. Y no fue la única visita, sino que tuvo mas hasta que tuviese el alta médica. Si encuentro la noticia os la haré llegar pues el reencuentro fue muy emotivo.
Y es que el poder de un peludo no tiene precio pues es el único que te quiere tal y como eres. 🙂
Besos y lametones
La verdad es que no me lo podía creer. Cuando me enteré de la noticia pensé: ¿Como? ¿Ibiza? ¿La primera? Si prácticamente todas las iniciativas pioneras relacionadas con perros se llevan a cabo en las grandes capitales, así que estoy encantadísima.
No tengo ninguna duda de lo que me comentas… Por algo utilizan a muchos perros como perros de terapia: en temas de enfermedades mentales como el autismo, en temas de rehabilitación, en toxicomanías… En fin… en todo lo relacionado con las emociones y la mente, el perro nos ayuda muchísimo. Si es que valen oro!!!
Besos!!!! Y lametones a Logan!!