MACON, Ga. — It's National Nurses Week and Atrium Health Navicent invited some furry friends to help nurses relax, but also to say 'thank you' for all they do.
Nurses got to pet and play with pups from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs Monday morning.
Courtney Anderson, who works at Atrium, came up with the idea for the event.
"We are nurses. We're kind of trained and it's natural for us to want to be the comforter for all of our patients, but today we're bringing in the dogs to be that comfort to us... just to experience and the joy of interacting with the dogs," she said.
Pattie Alliston is tester/observer for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
The organization provides testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with dogs to visit different locations like hospitals, nursing homes and more.
Alliston says she loves the opportunity to give love back to nurses.
"We want to share our dogs and it not only gives joy to the nurses and people that we're coming to visit, but it's a blessing for us. I mean we absolutely love it and so do the dogs. They look forward to it whenever we get them dressed up and ready to go," she said.
The pups are only the beginning of showing love for nurses at Atrium Health Navicent. There are events all week including game day, lunches, and snack carts.
Anderson says this week is also a good opportunity for nurses to reconnect with each other.
"Most importantly, as we see each other in the hallway, just thanking each other, telling each other we're doing a good job. So, if you see a nurse out there, just go ahead and just tell them 'thank you' and what a good job they're doing because it goes a long way," said Anderson.
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