Patients at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital in Den Bosch can now have their pets visit them. The hospital has set up a special owner-pet space. According to the initiator, former cardiologist Hortence Haerkens-Arends, seeing your furry companion can help in the recovery process, Omroep Brabant reports.
“Animals lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Seeing your dog or cat releases a happiness hormone,” Haerkens-Arends told the broadcaster. “A visit from your pet is great. It is also a family member.”
According to Haerkens-Arends, pet visits in hospitals are already quite common in other countries. “We in the Netherlands focus more on hygiene and rules.”
And the pet visitation room will, of course, be subject to a whole set of rules, also to ensure hygiene. Pets are not allowed to enter through the hospital’s main entrance, but must be brought to the special area via the garden. Pets must be house-trained, vaccinated, and leashed. If they meet the conditions and the doctor gives the okay, pets can visit once a week.
Pets are banned in almost all Dutch hospitals. The VieCuri Medical Center in Venlo experimented with allowing animals to visit, but ultimately did not set up a permanent space. The Zuyderland Medical Center in Limburg allows pets to visit and say goodbye to patients who don’t have long to live. And the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht allows pets to visit children in some cases.