Companion animals are key in physical and emotional recovery. These little animals provide an immense feeling of well-being and not only emotionally through love, but also on a health level. That is why the San Rafael de Fusagasugá Hospital implemented a valuable strategy, called Huellitas de Amor, which involves them.
The manager of the San Rafael Hospital, Andrés González, indicated that this method seeks to allow hospitalized patients to interact with their pets, who are allowed to enter the establishment.
For the hospital, comprehensive care includes both the physical and emotional components. So, taking these two ideas, they merge and Huellitas de Amor is born.
“We have established that people who have been hospitalized for more than four days and all those who are already in the final course of life can receive visits from pets,” said González.
San Rafael is the first public hospital in Colombia to adopt this strategy and the third care center to do so in the country.
“It has definitely been a successful strategy, we have been able to see how the fact that pets reach family members positively impacts their mood and emotional state”Gonzalez said.
This strategy that involves pets also benefits children, since it has been seen that minors in pediatrics make a better adaptation, receive much better treatments and have a much shorter stay according to hospitalization processes.
Patients like Sandra González received a visit from their pet.
“They went by announcing that we could have the joy and happiness of being able to share with our pets. It is a great joy because I had not seen her for days, I could only see her through photos or by video call”expressed the patient.
Up-to-date vaccination card, a bath two days before the visit, a cleaning of the legs before entering the hospital and a ride in a conditioned cart or in a crate are part of the requirements for these well-being meetings to take place.
When the patient is hospitalized in a single-person room, their pet enters the room and when it is a shared room, some areas have been allocated on each floor where the patient moves in the company of the animal and can share and make the visit in that area. .
The message is that hopefully many IPS multiply the strategy, since the positive impact it has on patient recovery has been demonstrated. Sharing with their pets evokes the happiness of patients, who go to their rooms very happy, accepting their treatments better, reducing stress and anxiety.