Helen Woodward Animal Center Critters Provide Healing for Rady Children’s Hospital Children’s Advocacy Workers
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (May 11, 2021) – Yesterday, Helen Woodward Animal Center was host to some of the most dedicated healthcare workers in the city. The Chadwick Center for Children and Families is a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) at Rady Children’s Hospital, for children who are suspected or confirmed victims and witnesses of abuse, neglect and/or other violence receive services. The Center provided the Forensic & Medical Services team a special day aimed at relief and rejuvenation through the healing power of animals.
The Chadwick Center at Rady Children’s Hospital’s is made up of many professionals working to help children who have experienced trauma. The Forensic & Medical Services team includes physicians, forensic interviewers, short-term therapists and administrative staff who work on the front lines of child abuse and neglect cases. The group sees trauma every day but the last year and a half of the pandemic has seen a concerning rise in cases.
“It’s been really bad for kids in general,” explained Shalon Nienow, M.D. Medical Director of Child Abuse Pediatrics at the Chadwick Center for Children and Families. “Anytime there’s stress within a family, whether it’s financial, not being able to get out, or being asked to do jobs that people don’t normally do like child care or being a teacher, it adds a lot of different elements to families that makes them unable to cope and so that reduced coping leads to more abuse and neglect for kids.”
The rise and intensity of cases the Chadwick Center team has been working on has had a residual effect on the staff who is dealing with more stress, less sleep, more anxiety, and more sadness.
Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Pet Encounter Therapy is, in essence, “cuddle therapy.” The program normally brings the unconditional love and tactile benefits of animals to patients inside skilled nursing facilities, children’s shelters, hospitals, psychiatric units and many more. The basis of the important therapy stems from studies showing that holding and caressing an animal provides benefits such as relaxation, lower blood pressure, improved long- and short-term memory, and sensory stimuli.
In March, Deborah Wagner, Chadwick Center Supervisor of Medical and Forensics Services, reached out to see if this type of therapy would be available for her staff. Helen Woodward Animal Center was honored to set up a special day for these devoted caretakers.
Yesterday, Monday, May 10th, thirteen members of the Chadwick Center team arrived at Helen Woodward Animal Center for an afternoon filled with smiles and a variety of sweet critters including horses, emus, goats, and even Noodles the snake. Best of all, each member of the team had the opportunity to sit surrounded by loving puppies who climbed into laps, cuddled and gave kisses.
“The visit was a form of some self-care and being able to insert some joy into our lives when we see such bad things all the time,” continued Nienow. “Puppies can induce joy faster than any other thing we can do. We’re just hoping that everybody can have some joy, have a break and refresh.”
For more information on Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Pet Encounter Therapy, contact PET Manager Robin Cohen at (858) 756-4117 x322, or go online at www.animalcenter.org.
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