understanding the people-animal-connection at ucla health
Who doesn’t enjoy spending some time with adorable animals? UCLA Health is constantly researching and implementing cutting edge therapies for patients. One of the many ways UCLA Health is leading the way to recovery and healing is through their People-Animal Connection program, which connects patients to visits from four legged and furry friends.
People-Animal Connection (PAC) volunteer teams are made up of one canine and a human partner. Together they offer companionship and warmth to more than 1,000 critically ill children and adults every month.
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Since its inception in 1994, PAC teams have recorded more than 120,000 in-patients visits, as well as hundreds of thousands of unrecorded visits to families and guests to UCLA medical centers and community events.
The UCLA People-Animal Connection features animals from trained lap dogs to huggable Labradors, as well as Blue Moon, the therapy horse. Each of animals on the UCLA People-Animal Connection team are on a mission to aid patients in their recovery as they rest and recuperate within UCLA Health’s medical centers.
Dogs are naturally interactive and provide relief from long days in the hospital, helping patients to shift their focus from discomfort to joy. Medical research has shown that the animals' unconditional love and attention has the ability to bring about physiological signs of relaxation in the form of decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate.
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Whether or not you are a dog person or even a pony person, the UCLA People-Animal Connection is here to lift spirits and aid recovery for all UCLA Health patients.
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