Bay Pines VA Hospital’s Gamble

Abstract

After the success Skyler has with his red tail hawk, Patrick has an idea. He decides to see if Bay Pines might be interested in bringing patients to the park so they can walk with some of the wounded birds of prey. By this time, Patrick has moved to the Narrows, another nature park in Largo Florida. The hospital agrees, and soon they were sending patients to the Narrows to walk with screech owls, red tail hawks, and other birds of prey. The program was a huge success and to date more than 4,000 veterans with severe PTSD have taken part in the program.