Taking Care of the Elderly: The Benefits of Pet Therapy Across All Settings

Describes various types of pet therapy programs and provides the research that supports emotional, social, and physical benefits to the elderly when provided in hospitals, rehab facilities, adult day care, assisted living, SNFs, and at home.

All States: Accredited for RNs, LVNs, SWs*, LPCs, CCMs, and ACMs
*Not accredited for SWs in New York

Content Level: Beginner
Format: Reading-Based Asynchronous Distance Learning

About the author:
Robyn Horn has her Master’s degree in Long-Term Care Administration from the University of North Texas as well as an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She served as a licensed nursing home administrator for 13 years which included two years at an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility. Robyn has facilitated several caregiver support groups in both facility and community settings. She is also Author of the book, “Transforming the Mundane into Sacred: Spirituality in Caregiving for the Elderly.”

After attending this course, participants will be able to:

• Define Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)
• Describe the benefits of AAT for the elderly patient
• Illustrate the difference between volunteer and professional AAT
• Share success stories involving AAT and the older adult patient

Course Completion Requirements: This course is in a written format, and your certificate will be available for download immediately after successful completion of the post-test and evaluation. A score of 80% or greater is required to pass, and you may re-take the post-test if needed up to 3 times.

*Individual Purchase Refund Policy: If the course has not been completed, we can refund the full amount within 15 days of purchase.
*Group Event Refund Policy: If the event has not occurred, we can refund the full amount within 15 days of purchase.

Approval Statements:

Nurses – HIS Cornerstone is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (Expires 01/31/2026)
Social Workers: HIS Cornerstone, provider #2082, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 03/25/2025–03/25/2026. Social workers completing this course receive 1.0 general continuing education credit.
ACMA and CCMC Case Managers: This program fits the description of an ACMA approved CE because it has been awarded contact hour(s) by HIS Cornerstone, a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. As of July 1, 2020 CCMC recognizes ACMA’s continuing education offerings to meet the requirements of the Certified Case Manager (CCM) credential.

Please contact mtaylor@hiscornerstone.com for ADA accommodations or if you have any questions, concerns, or grievances about this course.

Last Reviewed January 31, 2023