Last year, Orlando Health announced a partnership with PetSmart, renaming our corporate pet therapy program, “PetSmart Paws for Hope at Orlando Health.” This exciting partnership has bloomed throughout the past year and a half. From the beginning, PetSmart jumped right in to be a part of the Orlando Health family. They hosted a Central Florida District Manager meeting at Orlando Health in an effort to educate PetSmart staff about the hospital protocols, steps to becoming registered and several other ways that Orlando Health and PetSmart could partner in our community.

Additionally, PetSmart trainers have worked with a number of their customers who are interested in learning more about pet therapy. These canine and human teams have gone on to pass their Pet Partner evaluation and become members of the Orlando Health Pet Therapy Team.

Local PetSmart employees have also joined in to support several community events. In 2014, they supported the annual Miracle Miles event benefiting the Alexander Center for Neonatology at Winnie Palmer Hospital. At two of their Orlando area stores, PetSmart held a toy drive that brought in more than 1,500 toys, all of which were distributed at Orlando Health hospitals for the holiday season. They personally distributed stuffed animals at The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families Christmas party.

In 2015, PetSmart Volunteers and some of our furry friends participated in the third Arnie’s March Against Children’s Cancer presented by BMO Harris Bank.

We are honored to have PetSmart as a corporate partner at Orlando Health. Their support will continue to advance the mission of our hospitals while providing more pet therapy support to the patients we serve.