Inside Business Health Care Heroes 2026: Mutts With A Mission and Sentara Health

Award: Health Care Collaboration
Mutts With A Mission, which trains service dogs for disabled veterans, first responders and law enforcement officers, partnered with Sentara Health to introduce service dogs and their new handlers to clinical settings.
The Virginia Beach nonprofit inquired about the partnership, and the team at Sentara Simulation Center opened its lab, said Jo Ofeldt, Mutts With A Mission office manager and puppy raiser.
New handlers and their service dogs attend a two-week transfer camp to get each ready for everyday environments, like a grocery store or a restaurant. Ofeldt said handlers took their service dogs to medical appointments and saw value in adding a health care setting to the training.
The training at Sentara Simulation Center is intended to reduce medical anxiety and simulate settings — such as the waiting area, nurse assessments and blood pressure checks — with noises, lighting and unpredictable environments for the service dogs.
The partnership is equally helpful to the center’s staff, center manager Debra Gillis said in the nomination. The team now better understands the needs, movements and responsibilities in caring for patients with service animals.
“The most important thing is giving back to the service community,” Gillis said. “This work reminds us that health care is about the whole human being.”
Ofeldt shared more with Inside Business:
Q: How has this program partnership with Sentara Health evolved?
A: Our partnership with Sentara began when Mutts With A Mission reached out with an idea. One of our puppy raisers had a daughter in nursing school with Sentara and suggested that the Sentara Simulation Center could be a great place for our teams to practice working in a medical environment. All of our new service dog recipients attend a two-week “transfer camp,” where they learn how to work as a team with their service dog. During that time we practice real-world experiences — grocery stores, airports, public transportation, restaurants and other busy places — so recipients feel confident navigating life with their service dog. We realized that simulated medical appointments could be incredibly valuable. It allows our graduating teams to see that their service dogs know exactly how to behave in a health care setting.
After our first successful visit with graduating teams, the Sentara Simulation Center invited us back — expanding the partnership so we could also bring our service dogs-in-training. Our puppy raisers often bring their in-training service dogs to their own doctor’s appointments to expose them to medical settings, but it can be difficult to focus on training when you’re also a patient. The simulation center offers something unique: a realistic health care environment where our dogs and handlers can practice with low stress and no pressure. What started as one collaborative training idea has grown into an ongoing partnership that benefits both organizations.
Q: What are the benefits of service animals in patient settings?
A: Many of our clients are veterans or first responders living with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries or mobility challenges. Their dogs are trained to perform specific tasks such as interrupting anxiety, providing grounding during stressful moments, retrieving items or offering physical stability. In health care settings, service dogs can help reduce anxiety and help patients feel more confident navigating appointments and unfamiliar environments.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: We’re most proud of the life-changing partnerships between our service dogs and the people who receive them. Every dog we place represents years of work — from puppy raising and training to the two weeks our recipients spend learning to work with their dog. Seeing someone regain independence, confidence and the ability to participate more fully in daily life is incredibly meaningful. It’s especially powerful when recipients tell us they’re able to do things they hadn’t felt comfortable doing before — whether that’s going to the grocery store, attending events or simply feeling safe leaving the house again. Those moments remind us that this work truly changes lives.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: Success for us is measured in the long-term partnerships between our service dogs and their handlers. We stay connected with our clients after placement and monitor how the teams are doing over time. We also look at the real-world impact: Are our recipients able to navigate daily life more independently? Are they returning to activities they previously avoided? Are they feeling more confident in public settings? A successful placement means the dog and handler are working together seamlessly and supporting each other every day.
Q: What lessons have you learned?
A: One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is the value of collaboration. Partnerships with organizations like Sentara allow us to create experiences that we simply couldn’t replicate on our own. Their willingness to open their simulation environment to our teams has helped us better prepare both service dogs and their handlers for real-world health care situations. We’ve also learned that confidence grows through experience. The more environments our teams can practice in — especially supportive ones like the simulation center — the more prepared and comfortable they are when those situations arise in real life.
Q: How do service animals (and their handlers) get involved?
A: Our dogs begin as puppies with volunteer puppy raisers who help socialize them, introduce them to everyday environments and attend weekly training classes. After that foundation, they enter advanced training with our trainers. Recipients apply for a service dog and, once matched with a dog, attend our two-week transfer camp to learn how to work together as a team before heading home.
Angela Bayless, the manager of operations support at Sentara Simulation Center, also shared insight:
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: Participating in the Mutts With A Mission event was incredibly rewarding. It was inspiring to see how this organization supports our veterans who have given so much for our country. We absolutely loved watching the interactions between the veterans and their new dogs. Many of them started out unsure — unsure about the event, their dog’s abilities and even their own ability to handle the dogs. But by the end, I think everyone walked away with a great learning experience and shared quite a few laughs.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: Success for us meant having the opportunity to make a difference and offering our facility to support this important need. It was amazing to watch the veterans interact with their new dogs in a simulated hospital environment. Everyone did so well, and our staff was incredibly supportive throughout the entire event. I believe we helped the veterans feel comfortable during the simulation, and the fact that we’re hosting it again this year shows just how successful it was.
Q: What lessons have you learned?