[margaritaville]

Bless that nurse for her caring. As a nurse I can tell you that we sometimes get too caught up in policy and procedure, loosing site of the primary goal-the patients. There are some hospitals that have pet therapy programs but she wants her own baby. She (or you) can ask to see the patient advocate or a member of administration and state your aunt's need. Another way to go is to get in touch with the doctor, tell him how much that allowed visit meant to your aunt and ask that he write an order in her chart stating, "Mrs ----- may be taken outside for visit with family/pet as desired". As long as your aunt is not on life sustaining support or on isolation there should be no reason to refuse this. Most of the time the problem is that a staff member must accompany in case the patient falls or requires help-which leaves the floor short of staff.