may belong to a pet therapy program or may be the client’s own pet. The University
of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City has had a pet visitation policy for many years.
They believe that allowing a pet to visit can be a healing experience for patients,
family members, and even the pet. Pets are even allowed to visit in ICU settings,
with the approval of the nurses, and if the patient’s medical condition doesn’t pre-
vent the visit.
Resident Animals.
A resident animal lives at the health care facility. The staff is responsible for the
complete health and well-being of the animal and residents are included in provid-
ing routine daily care. Grooming and brushing, for example, are good therapies for
the hands. Some staff reports that full-time pets become so perceptive that they actu-
ally gravitate to the rooms of people who are the most isolated or depressed. Those
residents who have regular visits are more receptive to treatment, have a greater
incentive to recover, and have an increased will to live.
Eden Alternative
In the Eden Alternative, nursing homes are places where the residents give as well as
receive care and where a diversity of species create a natural habitat. The approach
uses animals, plants, and children to interact with residents of long-term care cen-
ters, creating a “human habitat” that makes the residents feel more at home—and
not so much in one. Resident animals are part of the total environment. Children
and teenagers from schools and youth volunteer programs frequently visit the home.
They come in and interact and build relationships with residents, as opposed to the
usual pattern of coming in, putting on a program, and leaving.
The Eden Alternative empowers residents and the staff members who come into
daily contact with them. Residents have more say in their activities, menus, and
daily routines; caregivers, maintenance workers, and other employees can set their
own work schedules, within given parameters. Supporters of the program believe
that employees frequently seem happier in Eden homes as evidenced by fewer sick
days and lower staff turnover. The Eden Alternative is really about liberating the
spirit of the people who are living and working in long-term care.
The movement remains loosely organized, spreading largely by word of mouth.
North Carolina has declared unofficially that it is an Eden Alternative state and has
assembled a special coalition giving financial aid grants to encourage facilities to
adopt Eden techniques. The Lt. Governor of Missouri, Roger B. Wilson, has asked the
state’s Division of Aging to help promote Eden. About 60 facilities there are in the
process of implementing programs. Eden programs are also popular in New York,
CHAPTER 25 ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY 309
