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GOOD NEWS
Laughlin Healthcare Center gets
a visit from local llamas
A trio of llamas not only made some new friends but they made big news
as well at the Laughlin Healthcare Center in Greeneville.
 A
feature about Greeneville High School Principal Jerry Ayers taking
three pet llamas on an indoor/outdoor tour of Laughlin recently made
it into newspapers all over East Tennessee. First the Greeneville
Sun wrote about the woolly animals visiting with patients at the
nursing home, and then the story was picked up by the Bristol
Herald Courier, the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Oak
Ridger.
Despite their size, llamas are very gentle, almost shy, animals,
according to the Greeneville Sun story. Ayers, who has a farm
with 23 llamas, told the newspaper that the animals are great for
relieving stress, which makes them good for pet therapy, a popular
activity in Tennessee's nursing homes.
Patients at Laughlin certainly seemed to enjoy greeting the 300-pound
animals and stroking their soft coats of fur. After getting over the
shock of seeing three llamas walk right through the building to the
courtyard, many of the patients wanted to pet the animals and get
their pictures taken with them.
"They really enjoyed it and they talked about it for a long time," Tom
Parker, administrator at Laughlin said of his patients. "It's good
therapy for the patients to have something to talk about with each
other and something to show affection for."
Over the past decade, the average patient in a nursing home has grown
older and sicker, so programs such as pet therapy have become
increasingly important to fight loneliness, boredom and depression.
Many nursing homes have in-house dogs or cats, and others sponsor
training programs for pet owners who would like to bring their pet to
visit patients in long-term care.
“Good News”
is a feature designed to spotlight some of the many
positive aspects of long-term care in Tennessee. Know of a “good
news”
item?
Contact THCA’s Communications Department at info@thca.org.
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