Volunteer Opportunities - Paws for Patients
The first Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center Paws for Patients canine therapy team is pictured above, left to right: Evie Posner and “Chloe”, Kristen Ryan and “Ace”, Dorothy Ostella and “Haley”, Laurie Berman and “Hayley” and Barbara Dzera and “Bailey”. With the assistance of the nonprofit organization Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc. the teams participated in a volunteer assessment and testing program.
Paws for Patients was launched in 2009 by the Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center to further enhance its mission of caring for patients not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. The therapeutic use of dogs in the health care setting has been proven to help orient patients, especially those with dementia, to the present moment. Dogs decrease anxiety, reduce feelings of isolation and even lower blood pressure in patients. The program is fully-funded by the generosity of donors and relies on volunteers and their dogs to provide services to hospice patients and families.
Interested in becoming a Paws for Patients volunteer?
Contact Spiro Ballas, Volunteer Coordinator, at 973-322-4866 or sballas@barnabashealth.org or Laurie Berkman, Paws for Patients Program Coordinator, at 973-322-4800 or lberkman@barnabashealth.org.
4th Annual October Tails Halloween-Themed Dog Walk and Costume Contest
Verona Resident Gives Time Through Paws for Patients
Livingston Volunteer Team Offers the Comfort of Canine Companionship to Hospice Patients
Smiles from a Young Patient at the End of Life
The Canine Connection: A Verona Resident’s Story of Giving
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