Our very own Claire de Boer stepped on the national stage when she was named President- of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH). Claire’s leadership puts Penn State on the national stage as a part of the forefront of the Arts in Health movement.  As NOAH’s president, she spearheads strategic plans for arts in health research, arts to enhance healthcare provider well-being and arts in public health..

You can inspire future creative programs at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine by making a gift to support The Kienle Center or Center Stage. Visit engage.pennstatehealth.org and click ‘GIVE TODAY’ to make a secure contribution online, or email giving@pennstatehealth.psu.edu to have a member of our Development staff contact you.

 

We celebrated International Arts in Health Month in November

Our Joyful Movement program is offered monthly to Infusion Therapy patients during their treatments at Penn State Cancer Institute. This series offers cancer patients and their caregivers the opportunity to move during long infusion treatments, as a way to enjoy the rediscovery of body and breath. Instructor Judith Sachs, a trained professional dancer and founder of Anyone Can Dance®, is delighted to share her joy of movement with dancers of all abilities and backgrounds. This program is designed to help improve breathing, enhance self-confidence and grace, and most of all foster joy. “Excellent, uplifting, the bests I’ve felt in 3 months. Want to do it more and it really helps with chemo treatments.” – patient, Joyful Movement session

Center Stage staff offered seven participatory Resiliency Through Art workshops funded by the Drs. Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine.  We also offered nearly 70 Art Care sessions for nurses, faculty, residents, students and staff including 36 sessions in the Cancer Institute.

Our Art Care program is offered monthly to nurses/inpatient staff during their day/night shifts in the PSCI Impatient, Breast Center, and Radiation Oncology units. Each session includes live music, chair massage, and a short art-making project for the staff to enjoy a period of relaxation during their shifts in an effort to promote resiliency and combat burnout. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from these units, which helps us to continue to shape and grow this program. “I would like say that I highly appreciated this session and look forward to many more sessions. It was such a wonderful experience. Thank you for looking out for night shift! I was so shocked to see that they stayed for us (night shifters). I was calmed and my tension was decreased. I was able to have a positive outlook for the rest of my shift. I had a coworker who was become very stressed/irritated and I made them go to the session. They were a million times better after the session.” – staff, Art Care session