Bluegrass Care Navigators is excited to announce that one of our therapy dogs, Grace, has a new home in Hazard, KY. Grace, a Golden Retriever, will begin her career visiting our patients in the Greg and Noreen Wells Hospice Care Center.  In the future, her service can include patient visits to area homes, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

“Over the next few weeks, Grace will get to know those who care for her, and will make occasional visits to the office to meet her human teammates,” said Whitney Clay, integrative medicine coordinator at Bluegrass Care Navigators.

Grace had to go through extensive training to be a therapy dog, including testing to review how well she interacts with people and her obedience. Not every animal is qualified to be a therapy animal, which is why there’s such extensive testing.

Studies have shown that animal assisted therapy can help people recover from a range of health problems. For example, patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease can benefit from the socialization and activity associated with animal visits. They can also offer stress relief, comfort and affection.

Animal assisted therapy is just one of the programs included in the organization’s Integrative Medicine program.

Headquartered in Lexington, Bluegrass Care Navigators provides hospice care in 32 counties across central, eastern and northern Kentucky. In addition, the agency supports those facing serious illness or chronic disease with private duty nursing, home primary care, transitional care, adult day health care, and adult and pediatric palliative care services.