Tips for Great Visits #1
Wendy the therapy horse getting ready for a visit
There are many hours of training and handling that go into a visit. Good training and a good handler are very important to the success of your visit. We also know that if your visitors know what to expect the entire visit precede much more smoothly and will be enjoyable for all participants. As a handler for your group there are things you can do before you ever get to the doors of the building to do a visit. Planning the entire visit is very beneficial. Talk with the person who has scheduled the activity about what you will be doing and also what you will not be doing. Discuss with the facility about the length of the visit, where it will occur, where should you enter, where will you park, and a variety of other topics. We listed one of the things that you can let the facility know before the big day. Each of the suggestion made is for a purpose, it makes your visit go smoothly and it helps you meet better safety protocol as well. We will talk about each of these items one by over the next few weeks. we will talk about the each of these items that are contained in a letter each facility receives at the previsit.
#1 During every visit we provide for your facility please have an activities director or staff member escort our teams for the entirety of the visit. If our team is left unattended for any reason we will terminate the visit.
The purpose of having an escort is to protect you and your teams during a visit in case something were to happen or someone accuses you of something. This provides for another set of eyes to be available in case a situation were to arise. We also have experienced that accidents and medical emergencies can happen that are not related to your visit and this allow someone to get help and not leave the patient alone. Also the escort should ask before entering a private room and confirm that you are welcome to enter. We also ask each person in the group if they would like to touch the horse as we go around the room., we never approach anyone if the say no or wish to not pet the horse.. Also make sure that if multiple teams are in the building and the teams split up, an escort must be provided for each team. So for example we do a group visit with two teams together in the room. We then are going split into two seperate hallways, one team per hallway. We would ask the facility two provide two escorts, one for each team at this point. Again it is for their safety as well as your own.
As professional handlers it is up to you to provide information to the facility so that they are educated. Simply letting them now that you would like an escort goes a long way in letting them know what you expect from the visit as well.
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