One of these amazing kids even painted a tile with and Egyptian theme focused on Isis....amazing!
... full text
Ceiling tiles in the Paediatric areas
One of these amazing kids even painted a tile with and Egyptian theme focused on Isis....amazing!
... full text
The funkiest lift waiting areas you will see!
A couple of photos of the wonderful mosaics and the decorated ceiling tiles that are installed in all of the paediatric areas (including NICU), all painted by the kids!
... full text
My adventures in Florida
Florida is a real place of contrasts! It's bizarre that the weather is so very hot and yet you go inside and freeze because all of the buildings are icily air conditioned (at least to me). Florida is an amazing place though. I've spent a wonderful few days with the Shands @ University of Florida Arts in Medicine (AIM) team, who are an amazing bunch of people doing extraordinary work. My first day I was instructed to meet Tina Mullen, the Program Director by the "Healing Wall" in the foyer of the hospital. Wondering if I would miss the spot (the campus is absolutely enormous!), I walked in thru the main entrance and there I was, facing this absolutely amazing tiled wall, made up of individual hand painted tiles, that had been created by the AIM team and patients. It gave the entrance such an aura of peace and reflection, even in the face of people rushing about (as happens in hospitals). As I sat there waiting for Tina (I was early..........you better believe it!) I watched as people stopped and looked, some momentarily, some for a few minutes and some people actually sat down and studied the contributions that make up the wall.
The Healing Wall sets the tone for much of the visual art displayed throughout the hospital and more impressively, the works are created by partnerships between patients and the AIM artists in residence. As Mary Lisa Kitakis Spano (the Artist Coordinator) is a visual artist and builds amazing mosaics, there are mosaic installations everywhere..........I've never seen such beautiful lift waiting areas, all decorated with mosaics of different materials, telling different stories and honoring the partnership between patients, artists and health professionals, that is integral to a healthy hospital environment. I was so fortunate to spend time with Mary Lisa and Sibet doing an art workshop in the paediatric unit and loved watching the sheer joy on the faces of these very sick kids as they focused intently on painting their canvases. Tina, Kris Sullivan and the lovely Jill Sonke took me out for lunch (which was a real treat) and this gave me an opportunity to talk to them all about the history and scope of the AIM program at Shands. It was great to catch up with both Jill and Kris as they were the ones who facilitated my visit, so I'm very grateful to them! Later in the day, Adria Klausner took me to the Mother/Baby Unit where I got to see her working at the bedside with mums who may spend the bulk of their pregnancies in the hospital. She helps engage them in all sorts of art and craft activities and carries all of her gear around on an "art cart", so everything is very portable. Finally I met Paula Patterson, the Dramatist in Residence (who is also very persuasive........more about that later) who took me to the very top of the hospital and toured me around, demonstrating her bedside artwork with patients. I must say I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel........I think I walked a million miles, but at the time I didn't really notice, because the beauty of the work surrounding me on the walls, on the ceilings and in the lift waiting areas, totally distracted me......I understand why this has such a positive impact on the patients......and staff! Photo of the Healing Wall
... full text
Fried Green Tomatoes.........oh yeh!
You probably all know my favourite movie is "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe" Well, I don't have a clue where Whistlestop is, but I found FGT's at Harry's Cafe and Grill in Gainesville, Florida and I must say, they were awesome! No wonder old "Ms Thredgood" loved them so much. Luckily I had a very helpful waitress who explained how to make them, so watch out everyone at home, I'll be frying them up as soon as I get home!
BY THE WAY.........am yet to receive a single email from home. Just letting you all know! I even listened to the Hilltop Hoods today, and that wasn't even enough, so get "tapping" you guys!
... full text
Health Arts Network at Duke
The Health Arts Network at Duke (HAND) program.......wow! Well I spent a couple of days with Olivia Woodford, Betty Haskin, Sam Morrison, Grey Brown, Jessica Blaustein and performers of the HAND team at Duke University Medical Centre and was extremely impressed with the extent of their programs, given as with all arts programs, they manage to achieve so much on a limited budget. Betty took me on a tour of the hospital, which I must say is ENORMOUS (924 acute beds/19 psych beds and planning to build more!) The architecture of the place is really interesting. Given that the original hospital building I visited was built in 1925, the rest of the development has been very well designed and though the buildings are all different, they seem to complement each other. The site is huge, in fact it's like a self contained city and encompasses not only the acute hospital but two large outpatients clinics, a big paediatric unit and clinics, plus the university schools of medicine, nursing etc. Needless to say I got more exercise in two days, than if I'd walked around the MCG ten times!
From the moment you enter the huge entry atrium (including a waterfall), the arts surround you, from the beautiful grand piano in the foyer (that anyone is welcome to play, in addition to the scheduled musicians) to the installations that include sculptures, textiles and paintings. Betty took me to the "Touchable Gallery", which has an amazing variety of exhibits that visitors are encouraged to touch (hence the name of the gallery!) Most of the artwork is commissioned and therefore meets the "healing" mission of the HAND program. Throughout the hospital there is an extraordinary amount of visual art, some of which is in semi permanent installations, others are part of focused thematic exhibitions. Sam took me on a tour of the exhibits and told me about how they are developing an electronic database for the collection..........he also dropped me off at the Chapel for a 1/2 hour guided meditation, then off to look at the "Martin Luther King Jnr." exhibit. Sam sure know his way around the place (thank goodness or I would have been lost a million times). There is an amazing collection of children's art that covers the walls along the hallways that lead to the paediatric units. The thing I found the most impressive about the visual art displays, was not just that all of the work was original, but that it was well framed, well hung and well lit! A far cry from the recycled old impressionist prints we often see hanging crookedly on walls in big hospitals! I was also able to walk along with Steven, one of the performance artists as he walked from patient room to room playing the guitar and singing........a terrific initiative and the patients really got into his performance, some singing along, some clapping or just watching him intently as he played. HAND has quite an extensive performing arts program and Jessica gave me a great overview of the performances they have planned for the courtyard space over the summer.
The literary arts program is also inspiring. I spent time with Grey Brown who conducted a journalling session in the Psychiatric Unit which I was very lucky to be a part of. The impact of this 90 minute session on the patients was extraordinary. They created poems, reflections and prose during the session that I was fortunate they were happy to read aloud at the end. It was extremely moving and I am grateful they allowed me to participate.
I saw so much in my two days at Duke and even managed an unscheduled visit to Joanna Parker at the Bereavement Department. Thanks to Florence Nash (who I met at the Literary Roundtable- where reading aloud is celebrated and practiced), I also got to meet Carl Weisner the Director of the Duke School of Divinity, which was a nice way to finish my placement as he and I had a long discussion about the impact of spirituality on health and the how we do things in Palliative Care in Australia around holistic care, which was great.........I finished off talking funding with Olivia and I must say this is the ongoing constant for us all.......getting the dollars and getting as much as we can for the amount of dollars we have!
So, that's it from North Carolina, I had a wonderful stay, saw heaps of interesting history and got a glimpse into the future. Ate my first "Buffalo wings" (which I really should have eaten in Buffalo) and my first "crab cakes", finally found out what "grits" are (though I didn't try them) and met lots of friendly southern folks, including Elisha who worked at the hotel. A BIG thanks to Now off to Florida.
... full text
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)