Mattel Children's Hospital: Canine Therapy For Kids

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital in Los Angeles has been recognized as one of the Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its outstanding pediatric care. The hospital offers a range of support services, including music therapy, mindfulness and meditation services, and access to interpreters. Additionally, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers Paula's PetPal Place, a service that allows children to reunite with their pets during their hospital stay. Volunteer dog teams also offer companionship and warmth to the children. These dogs undergo a behavior exam and meet strict criteria before they can visit patients bedside. While it is not explicitly stated that UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers dog therapy, the presence of volunteer dog teams and the PetPal Place service suggest that dog therapy may be available.

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital in Los Angeles

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital is located on the third and fifth floors of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. The hospital has a dedicated entrance from Gayley Avenue. The contact number for the hospital is (310) 825-9111, and the number for the Emergency Department is (310) 825-2111.

The hospital provides state-of-the-art treatment for children, from newborns to young adults, in a compassionate atmosphere. It also conducts research to improve the understanding and treatment of pediatric diseases and trains the next generation of leaders in pediatrics. The hospital has been delivering pioneering research, patient care, and education for over 60 years.

The hospital has spacious private patient rooms with large windows offering panoramic views. Each room has an iPad with access to a video or phone interpreter. The hospital also has a ''welcome wall,' an interactive 60-foot-long, 12-foot-high multimedia display that showcases stories about the hospital's patients and programs, along with messages of hope and recovery. The third and fifth floors, where the pediatric patient rooms are located, feature whimsical murals with characters and themes suggested by patients and families.

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers various support services, including music therapy, mindfulness and meditation services, and access to interpreters. The hospital also provides a NICU family group that meets twice weekly to offer resources and support to families of former NICU patients.

Regarding dog therapy, the hospital offers Paula's PetPal Place, a service that allows children to reunite with their pets during their hospital stay. Additionally, volunteer dog teams provide companionship and emotional support to patients and their families. These dogs meet strict criteria and complete a behavior exam before bedside visits.

Overall, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital in Los Angeles is committed to providing comprehensive care and support for children and their families in a warm and inviting environment.

Dogs with human parents meet strict criteria

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers dog therapy to its patients through Paula's PetPal Place. This service allows children to reunite with their pets during their hospital stay. Volunteer dog teams also offer companionship and warmth to the children.

These therapy dogs are not just any dogs with human parents; they meet strict criteria and must successfully complete a behaviour exam before they can come to the bedside for visits. While there is no standard set of criteria that therapy dogs and their human parents must meet, certain characteristics and behaviours are desirable. For instance, therapy dogs should be well-trained, calm, sweet, and personable. They should be able to provide physical comfort through soft touch and be able to offer unconditional love and acceptance to the patient.

Therapy dogs are often trained to meet specific needs. For example, they can be trained to provide animal-assisted therapy to patients with orthotics and prosthetics. These dogs can aid clinical teams in their treatment goals and help patients cope, heal, and achieve their treatment goals. Therapy dogs can also provide distraction and support during procedures, tests, and the general experience of hospitalization. They can motivate and encourage patients to reach their treatment goals, such as learning to walk or taking medication.

In addition to the dogs' behaviour, the human parents of therapy dogs also play an important role. They should be responsible for the feeding, grooming, sheltering, and exercising of their dogs. They may also need to provide documentation and complete volunteer requirements for their dogs to be allowed to visit hospitals.

Dogs provide companionship and warmth

Dogs are known to provide companionship and warmth, and this is especially true when it comes to therapy dogs. UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers dog therapy through Paula's PetPal Place, where children can reunite with their pets during their hospital stay. The hospital also has volunteer-dog teams that offer companionship and warmth to the young patients. These dogs are accompanied by a human parent and meet strict criteria and behavioural standards.

Dog therapy has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in patients, providing comfort and support. The presence of dogs can lower cortisol levels (a stress-related hormone) and reduce blood pressure. The act of petting or hugging a dog releases oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and stress reduction, and provides physical warmth and comfort. Dogs also aid in reducing loneliness, increasing social support, and boosting one's mood.

Therapy dogs are particularly beneficial for children's hospitals. Animal-assisted therapy helps reduce stress and makes the hospital environment less scary for young patients. Dogs provide emotional support, offering unconditional love and a sense of security. They can also help children cope with traumatic events and provide a sense of comfort and companionship during their hospital stay.

Additionally, dogs can assist in a clinical setting by helping patients achieve their treatment goals. For instance, therapy dogs have been shown to aid children with ADHD in focusing their attention. Dogs can also encourage patients to engage in physical activity, as dog owners are more likely to meet their daily exercise requirements through walking their dogs. Overall, the companionship and warmth offered by dogs can be a valuable addition to a patient's care and recovery process.

Pet therapy reduces stress and normalizes the hospital experience

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital in Los Angeles offers a service called Paula's PetPal Place, which allows children to reunite with their pets during their hospital stay. The hospital also offers visits from volunteer-dog teams, which provide companionship and warmth to the patients and their families. These dogs and their owners meet strict criteria and complete a behaviour exam before they can visit patients at their bedsides.

Animal-assisted therapy is proven to help reduce stress for children, making their hospital stay less scary. Dogs can provide love and comfort to patients and aid clinical teams in their treatment goals. They can also offer distraction and support during procedures, tests, and the general experience of hospitalization. The presence of dogs can also help to minimize the stress of the hospital environment by making it feel more "home-like".

In addition to pet therapy, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers music therapy, art therapy, and dance/movement therapy to help reduce anxiety and support children's development during their hospital stay. The hospital also provides mindfulness and meditation services, which have been shown to reduce stress and boost the immune system.

Other children's hospitals, such as Shriners Children's and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, also offer pet therapy programs. These programs recognize the therapeutic value that dogs can provide to children in a hospital setting, helping to reduce feelings of stress, loneliness, and trauma.

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers other support services

UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital offers a range of support services for patients and their families. The hospital provides access to interpreters, who can be accessed via video or telephone, with each hospital room equipped with an iPad for this purpose. Basic hygiene supplies, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, combs, lotion, and razors, are also available for patients.

The hospital also offers various therapeutic services, including music therapy, which allows children to express their feelings and ideas creatively. Additionally, the Heart Touch Project provides gentle touch and massage services to hospitalized children, aiming to provide compassionate care and support. The Chase Child Life Program delivers age-appropriate resources, stress relief strategies, and therapeutic activities such as art, music, and dance/movement to reduce anxiety and promote children's development.

For breastfeeding mothers, the hospital provides International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants and breast pumps. The NICU family group meets twice weekly to offer information, resources, and support to families, and they also offer a monthly Baby Basics class focused on transitioning from the hospital to home. The UCLA Pain & Palliative Care Program is designed to reduce pain, nausea, anxiety, and discomfort for children with serious illnesses, and it can be requested by the child's primary doctor.

Furthermore, UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital provides an on-site teacher for patients during hospitalizations, and children can access virtual mindfulness and meditation services to promote well-being. The hospital also offers valet parking services for patients and visitors, ensuring convenient access to the hospital.

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