| Client Comfort Rooms
For many years the CSU-VTH Hospital has acknowledged the importance of
creating a physical environment that caters to the needs of the clients
as well as the needs of their pets by converting veterinary examination
rooms into what we call Comfort Rooms.
A Comfort Room is a specifically designed room or a converted standard
exam room modified to provide clients with a private, comfortable area
for their veterinary visit. Comfort Rooms have specific features that
help provide a more pleasant atmosphere for clients in a variety of situations.
These rooms provide client care for any type of veterinary visit; routine
check-ups, clients who wish to visit a hospitalized pet, the delivery
of difficult news, clients who need quiet time to discuss medical options,
or when a pet is euthanized.
Comfort Rooms provide for the needs of patients and clients simultaneously.
By providing privacy, comfortable seating, comfort mats, lowered non-florescent
lighting, and other furnishings and materials, both the patient and clients
are in a less sterile, threatening environment. A positive, congenial
atmosphere allows for the opportunity for better communication and interaction
among the veterinary team and clients. Placed in this setting, clients
have a feeling they are more are cared about, listened to, and understood.
Comfort Rooms reflect our commitment not only to pets and clients, but
to our veterinary students and staff as well. Empowering the students
and staff to add furnishings to a Comfort Room with their own personal
"touch" allows them to contribute to the special atmosphere
of the Comfort Room and engages them to feel more a part of the team.
It also gives the entire team a sense of pride that they have created
a caring place for their clients. Every time a client compliments any
aspect of the Comfort Room, students and staff members receive positive
feedback and feel personal pride that they are helping their clients.
Comfort Rooms also allow veterinary teams to better meet the needs of
clients in difficult situations. The specialized room provides a physical
location to take an angry or disgruntled client away from busy areas and
communicate one-on-one on how to solve a problem. The privacy of a Comfort
Room is an appropriate setting for a grieving client or for a client who
needs to reflect on a difficult diagnosis.
Almost daily, veterinary team members have the unfortunate but necessary
task of delivering bad news to clients. At some point in a pet's life,
discussion between the veterinarian and client of a serious or difficult
medical issue will occur. The physical environment selected for such discussions
and many times for the unfortunate but necessary delivery of bad news
is truly important.
Comfort Rooms provide the logistics to better meet the client's needs
during the difficult times and allows the veterinarian to sit with the
client in a non threatening, quiet atmosphere. In this atmosphere, the
client may feel less embarrassed by any emotional response, is more likely
to ask questions, and be more responsive to the prognosis and treatment
options communicated by the veterinarian. While communication is the key
to any successful veterinarian/client relationship, having a Comfort Room
is a powerful tool when providing such communication.
Client comfort rooms should be in a low traffic area of the hospital and
when possible have access to a separate exit. This exit will allow clients
to leave the hospital without walking through the reception area.
Suggested items include:
1. Comfortable seating
2. Large mats with washable covers that can be placed on the floor. This
allows pets and their owners to sit or lay comfortably near one another.
3. The option of lowered, non-florescent lighting (lamps, simple wall
units with standard 40 watt bulbs, or overhead lights with dimmer, work
well and plug into existing outlets).
4. Colorful, but soothing wall hangings
5. Plants or greenery
6. Curtains or blinds for any windows to ensure privacy
7. Facial tissue
8. Animal supplies including: pet food/treats, a bowl for water, towels
9. Clay paw prints (for clients as a memorialization/linking object to
their pet)
10. Scissors for clipping fur, and small bags or envelopes for the fur
(can also serve as a memorialization/linking object)
11. Telephone (cordless phone or close access to a phone that can be
used in privacy)
12. "Do Not Disturb" signs for Comfort Room doors
13. A dry-erase board on the outside of the door to enable staff to reserve
the room.
14. Pet loss and support handouts
15. A lending library of pet loss support books.
16. A small fan in case the room becomes too warm.
17. TV/VCR to show videos on various topics (diagnosis, treatment, pet
loss, etc.)
18. A small mirror (clients who have been crying may want to "freshen
up" before leaving the comfort room).
19. A cassette player or CD player available for music.
© Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary
Medicine
Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
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