Epic Care Services

Pet/Equine Supportive Care

The Joy of Interacting with Animals

Epic Care’s Pet/Equine Supportive Care Program

Pets have the ability to show unconditional loyalty and support to humans and they’ve proven time after time that they provide companionship to those who love them. Humans and pets share a strong emotional bond that reduces stress and anxiety, which proves to be essentially helpful in hospice patients. Epic Care Health provides pet and equine support to improve the patients’ quality of life. Patients are comforted and find relaxation and even joy in interacting with animals.

Pet therapy has been used for several hundred years, has many benefits and can help decrease blood pressure, stress, anxiety, pain, fatigue, depression, fear and loneliness. Many patients see an improvement in mood, energy levels, self-esteem, motor and social skills and oral communication after participating in pet therapy. A session may include the patient petting a dog, holding a rabbit or enjoying a cat’s company. Epic Care Health’s trained staff will work to find interactions that will be beneficial to the patient and their condition.

Epic Care Health offers Equine support which allows patients to interact with horses. Equine support lets patients pet, talk to, groom or even ride a horse (if appropriate), which builds trust and a feeling of safety within the patient, reducing anxiety levels.

Pet and equine support not only helps the patient but can also be beneficial to their family members and caregivers. Epic Care Health recognizes the amount of pressure that families and caregivers are under, and we believe the implementation of pet and equine support will aid in reducing their stress and anxiety as well as the patient’s.