Garrett Lamp, Orlando Health East Region EMS Liaison, and Alejandra Velasquez-Perez, Orlando Health East Region Pet Therapy Coordinator

Summary

---

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode: Garrett Lamp & Alejandra Velasquez-Perez: Launching Hospital-Based Pet Therapy at Orlando Health
Date: May 17, 2026
Guests:

• Garrett Lamp, Orlando Health East Region EMS Liaison & Therapy Dog Handler
• Alejandra Velasquez-Perez, Orlando Health East Region Pet Therapy Coordinator
  Host: Kelly Gooch

---

Episode Overview

This episode explores the launch and early impact of Brevard County’s first hospital-based pet therapy program, spearheaded by Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital. Host Kelly Gooch speaks with two leaders of the initiative, Garrett Lamp—handler of therapy dog Chloe—and Alejandra Velasquez-Perez, who coordinates pet therapy for Orlando Health East Region. The discussion delves into the practical, emotional, and organizational effects of integrating certified therapy dogs into hospital spaces, offering anecdotes, measurable outcomes, and advice for healthcare leaders considering similar programs.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Value of Pet Therapy for Emergency and Clinical Teams

• Garrett’s Motivation & Experience

  • Garrett explains his 30+ years as a firefighter/paramedic influenced his appreciation for therapy dogs.
  • “I just knew that it would be incredible value to the people that work in the hospital... I wanted to give back, I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to be able to give the same gift that I received in the fire service to the people that work in the ER.” (03:01)

• Helping First Responders Reset

  • First responders work long, stressful shifts; having Chloe in the ER provides a moment of normalcy and stress relief.
  • “They will literally get on the floor with her and pet and interact. They take selfies with her. They repeatedly say, ‘this is exactly what I needed today and I’m so happy that she’s here today.’” (04:54)

2. Patient-Centered Impact – A Story of Healing

• Memorable Patient Interaction
  • Garrett recounts visiting a retired veterinarian whose face “immediately lit up” at seeing Chloe.
  • “The whole time we were in his room, he was not in the hospital, he was in another place. You know, he was in his happy place.” (03:36)
  • Marked reduction in anxiety and return of joy, as observed by both the patient’s son and staff.

3. Feedback & Measurable Outcomes

• Feedback from Patients, Families, and Staff

  • Alejandra shares:
    • “‘Honestly, I didn’t realize how much I needed this until that dog walked into my room. For the first time all day, I felt calm. I smiled without forcing, and everything else just faded into the background for a moment. It reminded me that I’m still me, not just a patient.’” (06:19)
  • Staff observe more relaxed, open, and receptive patients; smoother interactions and improved overall care experience.

• Quantitative Outcomes

  • Host notes: “Studies show that interaction with certified therapy dogs can reduce patient anxiety by up to 35%.” (07:13)
  • Alejandra explains the ripple effect: calmer patients are easier to care for; clinical flow and productivity improve when therapy dogs are present.

4. Program Evolution and Expansion

• Current and Future Plans
  • Orlando Health East’s program is new but aspires to match the downtown Orlando program which has “about 86 therapy dogs.”
  • “Our east coast [team] grows as strong, if not even bigger, than what we currently have in downtown Orlando.” (08:46)

5. Leadership Lessons and Practical Advice

• The Importance of Leadership Support

  • Garrett highlights the crucial role hospital leadership played:
    • “They don't just allow us to do this. They support it, they encourage it… They want to see that this program expands.” (09:29)
  • “There’s something about a dog. They don’t bring strings attached… They bring unconditional love… it really changes the day for everyone.” (10:10)

• For Healthcare Executives: Starting Your Own Program

  • Alejandra emphasizes the unique “magic” of therapy dogs, but also credits the handlers’ empathy.
  • “Until you witness the magic of a therapy dog, it can be fairly hard to understand how much they can do and how much change they can bring in just a couple of minutes...” (10:57)

• Garrett’s Advice:

  • “Don't wait. Right? I mean, get it. Get it going... I don't care what the cost or investment is to get it started, it will come back to you tenfold.” (12:01)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Personal Impact (Patients):

  • “For the first time all day, I felt calm. I smiled without forcing, and everything else just faded into the background for a moment. It reminded me that I’m still me, not just a patient.” (Alejandra quoting a patient, 06:23)

• On Organizational Well-being:

  • “That three to five minutes they get of unconditional love with nobody asking them for anything… it really changes the day for everyone.” (Garrett, 10:10)

• On Implementation:

  • “If you do not have a therapy dog program, I don't care what the cost or investment is to get it started—it will come back to you tenfold.” (Garrett, 11:35)

---

Important Timestamps

• Pet Therapy in First Response Environments: 01:00–03:00
• Veterinarian Patient Story: 02:35–04:16
• First Responders & ER Reset: 04:16–05:56
• Direct Patient and Staff Feedback: 06:10–07:05
• Impact on Outcomes: 07:05–08:09
• Program Expansion Vision: 08:09–09:04
• Advice for Healthcare Leaders: 09:25–12:29

---

Summary Takeaways

• Pet therapy has transformative effects on both patients and healthcare staff, significantly reducing anxiety, fostering positive clinical interactions, and lifting overall morale.
• The initiative at Orlando Health East is an extension of a highly successful system-wide model, with ambitions for growth.
• Strong leadership support is essential for program sustainability and success.
• Healthcare executives are encouraged to prioritize, invest in, and implement pet therapy programs—both for patient benefit and workforce well-being.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode illustrates the profound emotional and operational dividends of hospital-based pet therapy: a relatively simple intervention with substantial ripple effects for healing, morale, and teamwork. The "unconditional love" therapy dogs bring is a unique tool in reducing the emotional load carried by healthcare workers and patients alike, with leaders urged to take a proactive, enthusiastic approach to adoption and expansion.

Transcript

[A]

Hello everyone and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Kelly Gooch, managing editor at Becker's and today we're talking about the Healing Power Connection Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital. The organization recently launched Brevard County's first hospital based pet therapy program, expanding a system wide initiative of bringing certified therapy dogs into clinical spaces to support patients, caregivers and team members during high stress moments. Joining me here are Garrett Lamp, an Orlando Health East Region EMS liaison and therapy dog handler of his German shepherd, Chloe, as well as Alejandro Velasquez Perez, Orlando Health East Region pet Therapy program Coordinator who are helping lead this, this program. So thank you both for being here today.

[B]

Thank you and good morning for having us.

[A]

Good morning. Thank you. I wanted to start off with, with you, Garrett, with this conversation. I know you've spent more than three decades as a firefighter, paramedic and so just a level set, how did your experience in high stress emergency environments shape your decision to get involved in pet therapy?

[B]

It was very easy. I worked in a very busy part of central Florida for many years. I, for a long time always thrived on being in the busy firehouses where there was a lot going on. And later in my career, the fire service was opening up to therapy dogs and we would have them come by the firehouse on occasion and there were several programs and they would stop by and see us. And I saw the incredible value that became from that program. And as I transitioned out of the fire service into the hospital side, I was working on getting a dog. And I just knew that it would be incredible value to the people that work in the hospital to have a dog and a canine program and a therapy dog program. And I really wanted to give back, I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to be able to give the same gift that I received in the fire service to the people that work in the er.

[A]

Absolutely. Seems like a lot of experience you could draw on there and, and leading to this initiative. Absolutely, absolutely. So I'm hoping you can tell maybe a story for our, our listeners today and just the retired veterinarian that Chloe visited and why that moment really stood out out to you. Just to give a good, good anecdotal example of the work.

[B]

Absolutely. I mean, there are so many examples and she's just an absolute pleasure to walk through the hospital with. Everywhere I go she's become a little celebrity and they're very excited to see her. But kind of my normal routine is when I do the volunteer work and I get up onto the floor I always visit the nurses station and then I ask them and I say, hey, who do we have that would really appreciate a visit from Chloe? And, and they mentioned a gentleman that was a retired veterinarian that no longer is able to work with dogs. And I went down to see him. He was there with his son. And as soon as I knocked on the door and, and asked for permission to come in, his eyes immediately lit up and he was so incredibly excited and went over to the bed. And it was a mixture of, of just interaction with the dog and just out of habit, you know, like it automatically started to Chloe and talk about how healthy she was and how good she looked. He wanted to see her teeth and, you know, was impressed with how clean her teeth were and what great shape she was in. And the whole time we were in his room, he was not in the hospital, he was in another place. You know, he was in his happy place. And he was so excited that we were there. And his son was very appreciative that we were there. And it was just a great visit. And you could see stress, anxiety, everything just kind of roll off his shoulders for a little bit. And it was an incredible visit.

[A]

So just going off that a little bit too. I know you've said that pet therapy really helps first responders reset. And so why is that reset so critical before they go back out to care for others? And maybe also if you have any thoughts on how this really, you've seen this apply in the, in the hospital

[B]

as well for first responders, when they come into the ER, most of the time they work a 24 hour shift, so they repeatedly run call after call after call after call, and they don't get that reset necessarily. So, you know, it's almost like we make a safe place for them. We, you know, we have a spot where they can get a drink and a snack and just relax for a minute. But by having Chloe there, it changes their whole attitude. They come in and they are so excited to see her. They will literally get on the floor with her and pet and interact. They take selfies with her. They repeatedly say, this is exactly what I needed today and I'm so happy that she's here today. That's something that you also hear from the nurses and from the ED staff that patients that the paramedics bring in from the field, the nurses and the ED staff have to work with them just as much. So no matter what the level of acuity is, she is there to help them just kind of relax for a minute and to let that anxiety and stress roll off. And she does a great job of it.

[A]

Now, Alejandra, I want to bring you in here too, to the conversation, because you've talked, also talked about just how quickly therapy dogs can shift a room and just really the impact there as well. And so what kind of feedback are you hearing from patients, visitors and staff?

[C]

We have a lot of positive feedback. I have a quote that we received actually last week that I'm happy to read to you. So we had a patient said, honestly, I didn't realize how much I needed this until that dog walked into my room for the first time all day. I felt calm. I smile without forcing, and everything else just faded into the background for a moment. It reminded me that I'm still me, not just a patient. So a lot of our clinical staff also shared comments about how their patients just become more relaxed, more open. They kind of get a break from being in the hospital all day. Bringing it back to what Garrett said, where they're mentioning that that's exactly what they needed and they didn't necessarily know that. And then it also has an impact on our staff. It allows for smoother interactions. It just allows for a positive overall care experience. Because there is kind of like that reduction of stress and anxiety that the dogs are bringing into the experience.

[A]

Absolutely. And I know you just mentioned reduction of anxiety. And of course, there's other factors there as well. And studies show that interaction with certified therapy dogs can reduce patient anxiety by up to 35%. And you did already talk a little bit about how that translates into benefits inside the hospital environment. But would you mind expanding a little bit on what that looks like on the ground and maybe even from an outcome perspective as well?

[C]

We found that it just has. It has a ripple effect because again, if they are, if patients are calmer, they're more receptive to care, they're able to share their concerns easily. Our clinical staff is able to handle the situation easily and calmer. So that also helps with the flow and productivity as well. So it's kind of when Chloe comes in, it has like a very big effect on everybody that's around her. Like, patients are also like family. Patients are more like settled and able to process the situation easily.

[A]

Absolutely. And I know this is the first hospital based therapy program for Orlando Health in the county. And so I'm curious just really how you envision the program growing and continuing to support emotional well being across Orlando Health. And maybe if you want to add just anything about that evolution and what that's looked like there too.

[C]

Yeah, definitely. We're very excited to have launched it on the east Coast. Long term wise, we hope to reach as many patients and team members as we can. We have a small team right now, but they're very mighty. They're very passionate about what they do. Currently, the program in Orlando has about 86 therapy dogs. So the idea of would be that our east coast grows as strong, if not even bigger, than what we currently have in downtown Orlando.

[A]

And for both of you, I'm curious to just as we're in closing with the conversation, just our audience, being healthcare executives, what do you really want listeners and especially as healthcare leaders, to really take away about this program and what could they apply at their own organizations?

[B]

I'll start. First off, I am incredibly thankful and so appreciative to this leadership of Orlando Health, for they don't just allow us to do this. They support it, they encourage it. And when I see them in the halls and in the office space, they are just as excited to see these dogs as the patients and the staff in the emergency room and the paramedics that come in from the field. And when you work for and are involved with leadership like that, it really makes you feel good. And they, they want us to do a good job and they want to see that this program expands. There. There's something about a dog. They don't bring strings attached to anything. They bring unconditional love and they bring that from the president of the hospital all the way to the patients, the staff, the. And the first responders that come into the hospital and that three to five minutes they get of unconditional love with nobody asking them for anything, with no requests other than just some reciprocal love back and forth. It really changes the day for everyone and can't say enough about the leadership and how receptive they've been about this program.

[C]

I'm going to second that. I think until you witness the magic of a therapy dog, it can be fairly hard to understand how much they can do and how much change they can bring in just a couple of minutes of interactions. But I also want to bring it back to the handler. We're very blessed. Garrett is an amazing handler. All of our handlers at Orlando Health are incredible. The dogs opens the door, the dog breaks down a lot of walls. But then our handlers are have that empathy and connection that we're very grateful to have. So thank you, Garrett, for that.

[A]

Yeah, thank you both so much. And anything else that you would want to add today,

[B]

Again, just want to thank you and to your listeners, if you do not have a therapy dog program, I don't care what the cost or investment is to get it started, it will come back to you tenfold. So we encourage that.

[A]

Yeah. And, Garrett, I'm curious. What would you tell a house who does want to start a program? What would be kind of the first piece of advice?

[B]

Don't wait. Right? I mean, get it. Get it going. You know, Alejandra can definitely speak to the administrative part of it and what it takes to get it going. I'm sure that there's. There. There's a long list of things to. To make it happen, but to administration, that's thinking about it. Don't get it going. Get it started. And your entire team, your patients, visitors and staff will thank you for it.

[A]

Well, thank you both for being here today and for a great conversation. We appreciate your time and hope to connect with you again soon.

[C]

Thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you. We hope so.