One day each week, a volunteer dog visits patients in the Emergency Department at Jefferson to help them cope with the stress and nervousness associated with being in the emergency room.
Dr. Daniel Monti, director of the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine, explains in a WHYY Radio interview, "When you have something disarming like a dog that you can have a positive connection to, it actually can allow the nervous system to do the opposite of that fight or flight and lower your stress level."
See the full "Hounds on rounds at Jefferson Hospital" story.