Page 27 - St. John's Healthcare Foundation_Annual Report 2016

GIFT SHOP
Your shopping escapade begins here! At St. John’s Hospitals Gift Shops you can find the perfect little gift,
flowers, or edible treats for a loved one in the hospital. Once you discover our little shop of treasures on the
main floor lobby at each hospital, you will come back to shop for yourself or when you need a unique gift for
someone special. Come in and let our Auxiliary Volunteers guide you through your adventure as you explore
the ever-changing offerings through every season. Your bonus gift is the gratification of knowing that the
proceeds from your purchase helped to support patient care.

PET THERAPY
St. John’s four-legged friends offer our patients the unconditional love that only man’s best friend can bring.
Without words, dogs understand our human emotions through body language and voice. Their companionship
during a hospital stay helps patients to stay focused on something beyond their pain and illness.
Pet therapy helps people to heal. Research shows that after only 15 minutes of petting a dog, people have
decreased blood pressure and lessened anxiety as a result of increases in feel-good brain chemicals – cortisol,
serotonin, and dopamine.
More than a dozen dogs, accompanied by their trained owner-volunteers, dole out comfort and joy at
patients’ bedside – which is at times the best medicine available.

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