Center Stage Arts in Health is blessed to have a cache of gifted musicians who joyfully share their talent by performing in lobbies and waiting areas in the hospital. “We are especially thrilled that some of those performers are our own employees,” says Director Claire de Boer. Cheryl Foelker, RN, BSN, clinical case manager in the Anesthesia Pre-Op Evaluation Clinic played for us several times this year.
Art Therapy Program
Art Therapy Program Launched in 2018
Art therapy is for patients and families to support and improve psychological, developmental, physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual well-being. Art therapy is relevant for people of all artistic abilities and confidence. It focuses on the art making process, rather than the product, to achieve desired outcomes. Art therapy works to engage the mind and body in order to support coping with hospital experiences, provide a safe outlet for emotional expression, promote feelings of control, and instill resiliency and relaxation.”
Music in Our Lobbies
Center Stage hosted 370 professional performances in 2018!
Thank you to the Gift Shop and Penn State Store for funding a significant portion of our professional programs!
Generous support from the Gift Shop and Penn State Store mean Center Stage can add to its growing list of professional musicians. Harpist Louis Lynch joined Center Stage as a performer in the main lobby and UPC.
Vetted pianists play soothing and uplifting melodies on the pianos in our main entrance lobby and surgical wait area. Bryan Herber’s monthly performances in the main lobby are made possible by the volunteers at the Gift Shop and Penn State Store!
We Announced our NEA Award
Center Stage Arts in Health enhances the healthcare experience by showcasing creative and performing arts that calm, nurture and inspire.The Center Stage Arts in Health program at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine has received a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) award of $10,000 to build partnerships with the Harrisburg Symphony and Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz. “Through this program, we seek artistic ways to nourish the well–being of individuals who come through our doors, whether they are patients, caregivers, employees or students,” said Claire de Boer, director of the Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine and Center Stage Arts in Health.
NEA ArtWorks grant awarded to Center Stage Arts in Health supported a new program, titled “Striking a Chord,” in which duos and trios from the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz perform throughout Hershey Medical Center. Center Stage hosted 9 performances.
Mona Soweilam and Ruwan Elsayed (age 10) listened to a trio from the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra comprised of Ervin Dede, (violin) Philip Rammon, (cello) and Clifford Bernzweig (violin). Center Stage provided tickets to the March 17 Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Concert to Ruwan and her family.