David was in pain.  His nurses were doing all that they could to comfort him, but their treatments, medications, and attentive care could not touch his spirit.  Then the art cart, furnished by our Arts + Healthcare program, came to David’s room.

The Art Cart

“I want you to know how David changed when he received his art supplies,” said Michele, the lead charge nurse for David’s floor.  “He became more interactive and not focused on pain.”

David shows that the arts can have a profound impact on hope and healing—a concept now widely recognized and supported by research.  The mission of our Arts + Healthcare Program is to foster an institutional culture that includes the arts as an integral aspect of hope and healing.

Ken Wollberg performs at Barnes-Jewish to thank his physicians, inlcuding plastic surgeon Ida Fox, MD (pictured), who restored his arm after a truck accident.

And the power of art in the hospital doesn’t stop with patients.  Families of patients and hospital staff also find strength and renewal in the midst of stress, and sometimes sorrow, through enjoying or creating music, poetry, or visual art.  Arts + Healthcare provides these opportunities throughout Barnes-Jewish, for every person who walks through our doors.

Your gift for Arts + Healthcare will affect patients in all stages of illness, treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation, including…

• The cancer patient who finds that the fun of a knitting a beautiful hat gives her the will to make it through chemotherapy.
• The lung transplant patient who, when creating uplifting paintings, begins to think of herself more as an artist than a patient.
• The staff member who finds solace and voice through an expressive arts grief workshop.
• The anxious family member who finally relaxes as a guitarist plays gentle music in the surgery waiting room.
• The stroke patient who gains self-confidence and practices complex mental processing by drawing and talking about lines, shapes, and colors.
• The patient in physical therapy who forgets about the strain of his regimented day through the creative high of photography.

Arts + Healthcare is another way for Barnes-Jewish to care for the whole person—to treat not only the body, but also the human spirit.


Arts + Healthcare Programs Supported by Gifts to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation

“Having the art studio, as well as the guitarist, give the patients a reason to leave the infusion pods and not sit in their chairs.  I know many found both programs to be relaxing.   Personally, I was very happy to see patients sitting around a table together, working on art projects.  Some formed bonds that they may not have otherwise.  Others enjoyed creating projects with their hands and you could see how happy they were. These programs and the people who bring them to the hospital are invaluable to not only the patients, but to the staff as well.” Andrea (oncology nurse)

• Live musical performances in public spaces, in waiting rooms, and on patient floors.
• A gallery in the hospital showcasing rotating exhibitions of art by Barnes-Jewish employees and patients.
• Art carts stocked with kits that provide supplies for drawing, painting, journaling, clay modeling, and knitting.
• Art therapy activities for patients.
• Permanent displays of professional artwork on clinical floors.
• A photography project for staff to culminate in an exhibition.
• Renewal workshops for staff, designed for break times and after

  Former patient Jane Floyd-Hendey donated her original artwork to 7900 Oncology

  work, which will offer creative experiences as respite to the caregiver.