Home > Out of the Cage! > September 2005 > Alliance Affiliated Organization: St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care Program Eases Strain on Patients and Their Pets

Alliance Affiliated Organization

St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care Program Eases Strain on Patients and Their Pets

For some patients entering the hospital, their greatest concern is how their pets will fare in their absence. St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan is working to change that.

St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care, established by St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan in 2004, provides information, guidance, and pet care assistance for its patients who must leave their companion animals at home during a hospitalization. While some people arrange with friends or family members to care for their pets during a hospitalization, others have no one to turn to for their pet's care. In these circumstances, a cherished pet can easily end up in an animal shelter.

St. Vincent's recognizes that for many people, their pets are their family. And for some of these individuals, a hospital stay simply isn't an option because they don't have the support network or resources to have their pet cared for during their absence.

"We've seen instances where people refused to enter the hospital, and even left the emergency room, because they had no one to care for their pets while they were away from home," says Kate Fischer, the program's coordinator.

The St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care program was created to assist patients who need pet care while they are hospitalized. "At such a vulnerable and uncertain time, the last thing a sick or injured person needs is to be worrying about their pet," explains Kate.

St. Vincent's is working with a network of area veterinarians, pet services organizations, pet care providers, and animal lovers, to ensure that the animals in the program receive the best possible care while their guardians are sick or hospitalized. The veterinarians who participate in the program are enlisted only if a pet's regular vet cannot be identified. "We contract with outside services and we will pay them," says Kate. "We'll ask the patient/client to reimburse us to whatever extent they can, but we recognize that not all will be able to do so."

St. Vincent's recruits, trains, and supervises the volunteers who walk, feed, and look in on the animals, and contracts with a professional pet care service. "Whenever possible, we attempt to keep the animal in its home by coordinating reliable walking, feeding, and special needs services," explains Kate. "When that isn't possible, we arrange to relocate the animals to a short-term foster home, boarding facility, or even a no-kill shelter."

St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care also tries to assist recuperative patients and outpatients of St. Vincent's who cannot take care of their pets. Kate points out that "the program is not a first-response, but rather a resource when a patient's personal family-friend resource system fails."

St. Vincent's Patient Pet Care is made possible through philanthropic funding and donations from the patients it serves. If you are interested in volunteering for the program, making a donation, or learning more, please contact Kate Fischer at mfischer@svcmcny.org.