Help Us Fill Critical Needs

Funding Priorities

Pet Therapy 

Animal-Assisted Activities
The simple act of petting a dog geniunely boosts the wellbeing of patients while enhancing the hospital’s mission of building a healing culture. Scientific studies prove that time spent with animals can decrease depression, lower blood pressure and ease anxiety. Morristown Medical Center has trained more than 80 pet therapy teams, each team includes a volunteer and his or her pet. These teams as a whole average more than 30,000 visits each year. Funds support volunteer training programs, an annual conference, expenses associated with each pet visit and special events throughout the year.

The Need: $30,000
 
Virtual Pet Visits
Virtual animal visits add greatly to the quality of a patient’s day. Other experiences that increase wellbeing among patients include: playing with animal-centered interactive gaming modules, looking at photos of animals, watching videos with animal themes and cuddling plush animal and robotic animal toys.

The Need: $5,000
 
Volunteer Human-Animal Teams Training and Development
A robust training program (website upgrades, educational posters, training manuals) are key learning components to the success of each pet therapy team. Bright uniforms for both pet therapy volunteers and their animals will instill instant recognition and a sense of confidence for hospital personnel and patients when approaching these teams in a hospital setting. Adding enrichment activities for the benefit of the pet will help them to de-stress after each encounter and can be as easy as giving them time with a ball or favorite toy.

The Need: $3,000

If you have any questions, or if you would like to support a funding need, please contact Eileen Burke, foundation  officer, at 973-593-2437.