UK HealthCare

A Healing Environment Like No Other

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 20, 2011) — The new University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital won’t look or sound like a traditional hospital, thanks to the UK Arts in HealthCare program. The program highlights local, national and international artists in visual and performing arts, in music therapy, and even in the design and architecture of the building.

“The arts enhance the healing environment, but they also invite people to visit the hospital when they are well," said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK's executive vice president for health affairs.
"If patients and families are familiar with the hospital, they will feel more comfortable in a time of need,” 

As a member of the Society for Arts and Healthcare, UK HealthCare has built on the findings and successes of other art programs across the country to create an art program at the forefront of this movement.

In support of the growing body of research that endorses how art enhances medicine, the various forms of art throughout the hospitals and clinics are made possible entirely through private funds.

The video below highlights not only the importance for the arts, but also tells the stories from the local, national and international artists.

        [youtube]

View a transcript of the video here. Video filming and editing by Lee P. Thomas and UK Public Relations.

Read more about the music therapy program at UK here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Meador, (859) 323-6363 ext. 256 or Julie.Meador@uky.edu

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