Center to Advance Palliative Care

At our institutions the primary alternative therapies we are using that are provided by the program are massage and therapy dogs. The dogs and their trainers are porvided through our volunteer services and are a big hit with patients, families and staff. The massage therapy we provide is 4 hours per week at each of our three hospitals. This is reimbursed through foundation money. The massage therapist is a contracted employee and then paid out of the foundation account. I would think that you could do the same with other therapies. Depending on how conservative your organization and community are you can expect varying responses to offering other therapies such as reiki, aroma therapy, etc. You will also want to consider the acuity of the patients that you are seeing. Often the alternative therapies lend themselves well to more of an ambulatory population. The therapy dogs and the massage lend themselves well to the acuity at our hospitals. Sharol Herr, RN, MSEd, CHPN; Education Coordinator/Nurse Clinician; Mount Carmel Health Palliative Care Leadership Center; Columbus, Ohio.