Investment in the Arts Benefits All

"I believe that our decision to invest in the arts reoriented our acute care environment toward wellness, the ultimate objective. There is indeed a cost to benefit ratio that is worthy of exploration by today's healthcare leaders."

Larry Warren, CEO of Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC

 

Putting Research to Work

"Studies have shown that the arts can reduce stress and patient anxiety, improve the working environment for employees and elevate the patient-visitor experience. AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center has adopted a corporate arts policy to include evidence-informed arts programming in all of their future projects."

Glen Ann Stoll, Director of Community & Cultural Enrichment, AtlantiCare

 


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The Arts are Vital to Health and Wellness

Research confirms that the arts improve healthcare for patients and caregivers, and help lower medical costs. Notable benefits include the following:

  • Reduced length of hospital stays and fewer medical visits
  • Improved patient compliance during medical procedures and self-care regimens
  • Reduced use of pain and anti-anxiety medications
  • Improved recovery time and therefore reduced need for higher levels of acute care
  • Reduced levels of depression and improvements in quality of life variables
  • Decreased use of medical interventions covered by Medicare among the aging

Strengthening Our Nations Healthcare through the Arts: Issue Brief - Americans for the Arts

Nearly half of the nation's healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and staff. New Jersey has hundreds of arts programs in healthcare facilities that improve patient medical and mental health, lower healthcare costs, and create healing environments and greater staff satisfaction.

 

Edie Elkan, Founder of Bedside Harp Program, performs for a patient. Designed to promote the therapeutic use of the harp, the program has placed harpists with almost 50,000 patients in five hospitals since the program's inception in 2002.

Edie Elkan, Founder of Bedside Harp Program, performs for a patient. Designed to promote the therapeutic use of the harp, the program has placed harpists with almost 50,000 patients in five hospitals since the program's inception in 2002.

Arts Plan NJ, a blueprint for a better NJ through and for the arts, calls for a stronger partnership between the arts and healthcare industries statewide to improve patient care, caregiver satisfaction, lower costs, and provide jobs for artists.

With the generous support of Johnson & Johnson and in collaboration with the NJ State Council on the Arts and ArtPride NJ Foundation, an Arts Plan Working Group convened the NJ Summit on Arts in Health and Wellness to develop a network linking arts, health and wellness professionals. The June 8th Summit of 75 invited attendees included artists, physicians, arts administrators, therapists, educators, funders and healthcare administrators.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno enthusiastically welcomed the group who went on to learn from the Society for the Arts in Healthcare (SAH) about developing a New Jersey network of the international organization. New Jersey would be the first state to have its own network of SAH! Ultimately, the day provided an opportunity for coming to consensus on the needs, goals and priorities of the proposed network.

The next convening will be in November and will be open to all interested. Learn more about the Summit here. Join the mailing list for upcoming announcements and events. Or get involved on a committee to develop the network.

 

Learn More About the Role of the Arts in Healthcare:

2009 State of the Field Report: The Arts in Healthcare, The Society for the Arts in Healthcare, Washington, DC

The Society for the Arts in Healthcare (SAH) is a nonprofit based in Washington, DC that connects professionals in arts in healthcare internationally. SAH provides professional development, advocacy, research and access to grants.

Basic Toolkit Handbook: Building and Sustaining Arts in Healthcare Programs, 2008, Society for the Arts in Healthcare and National Endowment for the Arts.

Join hundreds of Arts Plan NJ endorsers in building a better NJ through the arts! Endorse Arts Plan NJ