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Cincinnati Children’s Breaks Ground on Family Pet Center

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center broke ground today on a new Family Pet Center that will enable patients on extended stays to visit with their own family pets while at the medical center. The Center will feature visitation bays that are wheelchair and stretcher accessible.

The center is believed to be the first pediatric hospital-based facility in the U.S. to reunite patients with their own pets. The Family Pet Center is made possible thanks to a $107,500 grant awarded to CancerFreeKIDS from Impact 100. The facility will focus on cancer patient recovery, but other patients on extended stays at the medical center will also have access to the new center.

“Pets are really important in people’s lives, especially children,” said Dr. John Perentesis, executive co-director, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati Children’s. “The interaction between patient and pet can be very therapeutic by bringing joy, comfort and a positive mindset to those suffering, especially from cancer.”

The Center will be managed by Cincinnati Children’s Child Life Department, which is staffed by healthcare professionals with expertise in working with children and their families to provide emotional support, information, and guidance when staying at the medical center.

Construction on the center is scheduled to begin as soon as weather permits with completion likely in August 2013. The general contractor is TriVersity Construction. The architects on the project are from GBBN.