HABRI announces Human Animal Bond Innovation Award winners

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced this week that Pet Peace of Minds, American Heart Association, and Health Alliance Medical Plans are the recipients of the Human Animal Bond Awards. The awards are given to organizations that use innovative programs to help create a more pet-friendly society while also advancing the human-animal bond.

The Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards is a new program that recognizes organizations and companies that are implementing innovative human-animal bond promoting practices and products. Nominations were open to the public with awards in 3 different categories: Workplace Culture, Public Service, and Products and Services. Winners were selected by an expert committee made up of pet care leaders.¹

Pet Peace of Mind

Pet Peace of Mind – the only national program that provides a care model for pets of seriously ill patients in hospice including helping animals find a loving home when necessary – is the recipient of the Public Service Category award. Through its programs, Pet Peace of Mind trains hospices to help support the pet care needs of their patients by deploying volunteers that are trained locally. According to an organizational release,² Pet Peace of Mind’s programs serve over 3,500 patients, meeting the needs of 4,000 across the United States.

“Pet Peace of Mind is proud to accept the Human Animal Bond Innovation Award in the Public Service category,” said Dianne McGill, president and founder of Pet Peace of Mind, in the release.² “By helping hospices across the United States implement programs to help support their patients’ pets, Pet Peace of Mind works to preserve the human-animal bond between seriously ill people and their pets. On behalf of the hundreds of hospice partners deploying our program, we are honored to receive this recognition of our work.”

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is the winner of the WorkPlace Culture Category. The American Heart Association recently launched The American Heart Association’s Best Friend Fridays to help raise awareness about the mental and physical benefits of owning a pet.¹ Every Friday in the summer, employees at the American Heart Association share photos of their pets, welcome them on video meetings, take breaks with them, and even just talk about them to help normalize pets and pet-friendly workplaces.

“As the Workplace Culture Award Sponsor, Zoetis was inspired to see the nominees going above and beyond to support the human-animal bond in the workplace, and we are honored to recognize the outstanding winner,” said Oliver Knesl, BSc BSc (Hons) MSc BVSc MRCVS CSAM, Executive Director, U.S. Diagnostics, Veterinary Professional Services at Zoetis. “The American Heart Association’s Best Friend Friday’s program encourages pets to be a part of their employees’ workday on a weekly basis, and goes one step further by educating employees about the many science-based health benefits of the human-animal bond.”

Health Alliance Medical Plans

Health Alliance Medical Plans is the award winner for the Product and Services Category. According to the release, beginning January 2022, Health Alliance Medical Plans became the first human insurance company to provide 30,000 Medicare Advantage plan members in 3 regional offerings fully paid access to 24-hour veterinary telehealth.¹

“It’s a fact that pets play a tremendous role in human well-being,” said Heidi Sirota, president and chief pet officer of Nationwide’s pet insurance division. “As a proud sponsor of HABRI’s Innovation Awards, Nationwide applauds Health Alliance Medical Plans for advancing the human-animal bond by making critical health resources available to pet families.”

References

1. Announcing the Human Animal Bond Innovation Award Winners. News release. Human Animal Bond Research Institute. August 23, 2022. Accessed August 24, 2022. https://habri.org/pressroom/20220823
2. Pet Peace of Mind wins Human Animal Bond Innovation Award. News release. Pet Peace of Mind. August 22, 2922. Accessed August 24, 2022.