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We
have a variety of resources
to help you...
How to Start a Program
The Upper Michigan Dog Therapy Partnership has the expertise
to assist you in setting up a program that will allow dogs
to successfully visit health care facilities. We have expertise
in program design, implementation, administration and evaluation.
Need help with development of policy and procedures? Are you
unsure about risk management issues such as infection control?
We can help! Need licensed Pet Partners to visit your new
program? We can help with that as well.
Infection Control and Related
Risk Management Issues
Infection control issues can seem insurmountable. “Knee-jerk-reactions”
about animals in health care setting are common. “Those
dogs will give our patients diseases,” is often heard.
Likewise, other risk management issues, such as concern over
animal bites, are raised.
Do not let concerns about animals interacting with patients
mislead you from the facts. Domesticated animals that are
animals that are healthy, friendly, have current vaccinations
and are appropriate to interact with patients in health care
settings. Evaluation programs for determining appropriateness
of domesticated animals to interact with health care patients,
such as Delta Society’s Pet Partners Program, significantly
mitigate issues such as the risk of biting or scratching.
The Partnership’s expertise in the area of infection
control will empower you with scientifically based information
so you can provide facts about risk management to individuals
and alleviate unjustified concerns.
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Napoleon
Shari Smith-OTR,
Kathi Ozusik-Pet Partner, and Amos
Ed and
Arlo going up?
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Pet
Partner Licensure Evaluations
Why get Pet Partners licensure? Licensure lets the dog handler -
usually the dog’s owner
- and the dog know they are ready for volunteer involvement within
a health care facility. Licensure communicates confidence to health
care facilities the handler visit. Facilities and their patients
and residents know the handler and dog are educated, competent volunteers
and the dog truly enjoys interacting with people. Pet Partners licensure
provides a 1 million dollar liability insurance policy.
Licensure to Evaluate Pet Partners Teams
Do you need Pet Partners to participate in animal assisted activity
and therapy program? Do you want to be able to use a standards based
program to evaluate dogs and their owners for appropriateness to
interact in health care settings? If your answered to these questions
is YES, then you need to become licensed to provide Delta Society
Pet Partners evaluations.
The partnership has the Delta Society Pet Partners Educators on
staff to provide you with the education and related experiences
needed to become a Delta Society Pet Partners Evaluator.
Research
Clinical observation has lead many health care professionals to
believe animal assisted therapy is a positive and powerful asset
in the therapeutic treatment of patients. However, research validating
these observations is absent for the most part.
Are you a health care professional who wants to develop a clinical
research project that examines Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and
functional outcomes? Are you a college professor or professional
student looking to research AAT theory? We can help you.
The partnership has expertise in the area of AAT research methodology.
We also have a large AAT reference base. If you need assistance
with the development of academic research endeavors we have the
experience to make your job easier.
Secondary Education Curriculums
The future of animal assisted activity and therapy (AAA/T) is dependent
on the education of health care professionals.
The Partnership has the expertise and experience to develope AAA/T
curriculums to assist students in effectively and efficiently learning
about AAA/T. We can provide you with detailed lesson plans that
address AAT theory, research methods, programming and clinical application.
We can custom also tailor curriculums to meet the special needs
of any health care profession.
Continuing Education
As a therapist, how do you recognize stress in an animal? How do
you integrate an animal’s skills with typical treatments provided
to patients? How do you document AAT treatment? Make no mistake,
providing animal assisted therapy treatment is a skill. As such,
developing and providing effective treatments that involve patients
and animals can be a rewarding but challenging proposition. The
Partnership can educate therapists to prepare and deliver effective
AAT treatment.
Educating Health Care Professionals About Animal Assisted Therapy
Would you like to help health care professionals learn how to utilize
animal assisted therapy? Do you have experience in the use of animal
assisted therapy and are interested in providing education? Are
you an instructor for health care professionals that would like
to have a curriculum to integrate into your current classroom format?
If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then becoming
a licensed Delta Society Animal Assisted Therapy 1 Educator is the
right choice for you. The partnership has Delta Society AAT1 Education
Trainers available to provide an interactive 4-hour course to prepare
you to teach the Delta Society AAT1 Course yourself.
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