UB's Center for the Arts (CFA) is embarking on a new program that will bring artists into local healthcare settings to facilitate a healing environment for patients and staff alike.
The program, which will be up and running by next October, is called the Arts in Healthcare Initiative and will turn the music up a notch by commissioning live acts to perform in hospitals.
The artists involved will be a mix of resident artists, which the CFA will hire for part-time positions in hospitals, and touring artists who are coming to UB and agree to prolong their stay to perform in a hospital.
According to Thomas Burrows, executive director of the CFA and founder of the program at UB, bringing performing, visual and literary arts into medical environments is a growing practice, and can even be considered a new field.
"It was an eye-opener because I had no idea how important those activities had come to be viewed by the medical community," Burrows said about a visit to the University of Florida's model program at Shand's Hospital.
Institutions like Duke, Vanderbilt and the University of Michigan have similar arts in healthcare programs.
Research has shown that introducing music, dance and visual art to a hospital setting helps alleviate stress and anxiety for patients and visitors of all ages, according to the federal program, National Endowment for the Arts.
Although R.L. Rothieauz, who conducted research in this field, describes these effects as "self-perceived," the cost of providing a simple diversion such as pre-recorded music is so low that the Journal of Advanced Nursing recommends including the medium in normal care practices, according to the NEA Web site.
"I think what we're doing here is in very strong alignment with what President Simpson is talking about in terms of the strategic strengths of the university, especially in the arts, and also the great amount of work that is going into community outreach by the university at large," Burrows said. "We at CFA have a lot of initiatives for training in the community...so it's a very natural thing for us to reach a little further."
Burrows also thinks the program will be able to reach a diverse local population and provide a "climate for research to take place" if data is collected on the interaction and effects induced by this program.
"The amazing thing about this program is if you think about a hospital, there is no determining what that population is. It includes everybody - every end of the socioeconomic scale, every ethnic group is represented, so it's really a wonderful place to try to have a positive impact," he said.
The CFA's first partner is Women's and Children's Hospital of Buffalo (WCHOB).
Mary Ellen Creighton, director for Pediatric Inpatient Services at WCHOB who is working with the CFA to organize the program, said that the hospital's partnership with UB in this program coincides with their mission statement.
"Part of our mission statement is to enhance patient and family satisfaction and hospital experience, and this creates an opportunity to optimize wellness through diversion entertainment and stress reduction," Creighton said. "We felt it could be a very good fit."
Burrows hopes that once the Oishei grant, which has supplied the CFA with $287,182 to get the program started, is depleted, the initiative could be a shared cost between the university and hospital. He also hopes that other foundations and pharmaceutical companies will sponsor the program.
According to Burrows, the grant will cover about 60 percent of the total cost needed to fund the first three years of the initiative.
Arts in Healthcare should not incur a lot of additional costs besides the payroll for resident artists and guest performers, Burrows said. However, in order to encourage touring artists to stay and "volunteer" at the hospital, the CFA would likely have to pay for additional hotel costs for the performers.
For Burrows, the pressure is on to make sure this program works out and can be as successful and beneficial as its model.
"We're already committed to it," Burrows said, explaining that Shand's came into a program that was already up and running, whereas WCHOB is the pioneer hospital in Buffalo.
According to Burrows, Roswell Park Cancer Institute has also expressed interest in joining the initiative.
The program will also promote research at UB.
"The exciting part of initiating a program like this, as part of a university, is...creating...a climate for this research to take place," Burrows said. "Our medical community here, the ones who relate to the hospital and those in classrooms will have the opportunity to utilize this interaction to undertake research."
Once hired, the six resident artists will be expected to work with WCHOB's Child Life Specialists for 10 to 30 hours per week. This summer, Jill Sonke-Henderson, who started the University of Florida's program 14 years ago, will conduct an intensive training session for the artists.
"There is quite a bit of training knowledge that has to be passed on before they can be turned loose in the hospital," Burrows said.
In addition to the training, resident artists will be required to get a complete physical and possibly some shots to be sure they will not threaten patients' health, because they will be working in chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant wings, among other settings.
Burrows thinks that it would be difficult for students still matriculating to be involved in the program, but encourages anyone with serious interest to attend an informational presentation on Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. Anyone interested should RSVP by Friday, Feb. 1 to 716-645-6754 extension 1388. He said that the CFA has requested that faculty in the theatre and dance programs let the program know about specific interested students.
"Down the line, there may be an opportunity for them. Once this is rolling, we will be looking for volunteers to work in this hospital setting to assist in the work that's happening with the artists in residence," Burrows said. "None of us doubt how beneficial this can be for our community and for the university."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
