Allison Ruchman and her beagle Wally spent 100 hours visiting with patients in the MRI waiting room at Monmouth Medical Center. A local student and her beagle have conducted a trial program at Monmouth Medical Center demonstrating that pet therapy dogs help calm patients awaiting testing.
Conducted by Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School juniorAllison Ruchman with her 5- year-old beagle Wally, the research study demonstrated that for patients awaiting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), interaction with a therapy dog proves soothing.
An abstract of the study, conducted in the hospital’s MRI waiting room, has been accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of a prestigious radiological association, the American Roentgen Ray Society.
“Reactions to therapy dogs are well documented, but we believe this is the first study of therapy dogs in an outpatient area,” said Allison’s father, Dr. Richard Ruchman, chairman of radiology at Monmouth. “Radiology also is a unique area because we see patients of all ages and with virtually every illness or injury.” Allison explained that she got the idea for the project when she had to undergo an MRI.
“I was so nervous waiting for the test, and thinking about Wally calmed me down,” she said “Then I talked to my dad about bringing him to the hospital to help other patients waiting for an MRI.”
ForAllison and Wally, the first step was therapy dog certification. They spent a year in training and then were certified to practice dog therapy. Last summer she and Wally spent 100 hours visiting 53 patients of all ages awaiting MRIs at Monmouth.
“The goal of the program was to help patients avoid the need for sedatives,” Dr. Ruchman said, adding that patients are usually very apprehensive while awaiting the procedure. “Research clearly shows the calming effects of petting a dog, and at Monmouth this was seen in all cases.” Allison said that during her visits with Wally, they would spend about 15 to 20 minutes with each patient, and in all cases the patients reacted positively and told her that interacting with him helped calm them. She said that one patient, a physician, said he thought he was relaxed while awaiting the test but realized after petting Wally that he could feel his anxiety releasing.
“One elderly nursing home patient with dementia opened up to me about how she was a dog trainer in her youth, and she shared some stories about that with me,” she says. “Her son told me that it was so remarkable because she really didn’t speak anymore. He said that we gave him his mother back.”
At Monmouth Medical, Wally is a part of the Pet Therapy Program designed to enhance the healing process for patients. Certified volunteer handlers and therapy animals provide positive interactions that contribute to the emotional and physical healing process.