Welcome Waggers History (continued)
In 1998 Welcome
Waggers was invited to become the named participant in a proposal for
the use
of therapy dogs in the Mental Health Unit of Samaritan Health Services
(now Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, GSRMC) in
Corvallis. This was the first
introduction for the use of dogs in this capacity at that facility, and
after
six months of making the rounds of various administrative committees,
the
proposal received approval. Welcome
Waggers members are honored to be able to serve in that program; the
visits are very popular with patients and staff. Additional
visits to the Good Samaritan Hospital medical areas, including the
intensive
care unit and orthopedic units, began with the first visit on Feb 27,
2007. Until the COVID restrictions of 2019
Welcome Wagger teams
visited the Hospital medical areas three times a month. Limited
visiting restarted in 2022, and it is hoped to expand in the next year.
Teams were also invited to ‘drop in’ at
the Cancer Center and to make prearranged individual visits to the
Dialysis
Unit.
The following is a list of some other facilities
that
Welcome Waggers members have visited, both past and current: Albany Residential Apartments, Benton
Hospice, Benton Plaza, Cambridge Terrace, Camlu Retirement Apartments,
Camp
Attitude, Children's Farm Home, Corvallis Boys and Girls Club,
Corvallis Care
Center, Corvallis Manor, Conifer House, Evergreen Hospice, Good
Samaritan
Hospital, Grace Center for Adult Daycare, Heart of the Valley Nursing
Home,
Heritage Mall Heritage Meadows, Mennonite Nursing Home, Mighty Oaks
Camp, Oak
Creek Youth Corrections Facility, Park Place Assisted Living, Regent
Retirement
Center, Regent Court, Safety Town, Stoneybrook
Lodge and Assisted Living, Timberhill Place and others.