Inside the Methodist Metropolitan Hospital COVID-19 unit, the constant flood of patients can overwhelm the overstretched nursing staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a stressful environment, but on some days, the soothing strains of musical melodies pierce the din, offering at least momentary respite from the chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The music fills hospital rooms and hallways thanks to Constanza Roeder, the founder and CEO of Hearts Need Art<\/a>, a nonprofit that employs artists and musicians to entertain and uplift stressed patients and staff with live music, art classes, and workshops.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t know we needed it until it happened,\u201d said Mary Hernandez, director of nursing practice for Methodist Healthcare System. As director of the COVID-19 unit from July through April and now director of the hospital\u2019s burn unit, Hernandez can attest to the healing power of the arts, having seen the musicians and artists of Hearts Need Art help improve patient outcomes and staff morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHad it not been for Constanza,\u201d Hernandez said, Methodist might not have pursued such enhancements to traditional hospital care. \u201cThat\u2019s just one avenue that we weren\u2019t thinking of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A leukemia diagnosis at age 13 shattered Roeder\u2019s idea that the world was safe, she said. She had to adjust her worldview to survive, to overcome the anxiety, stress, and despondency that can set in for those with cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe actual trauma of the disease and the treatment\u201d are difficult enough, she said, but \u201cthe emotional, spiritual, and physical recovery after takes way more time.\u201d She was grateful to discover the \u201cunshakable\u201d things in her life: God, the love of others, and art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe arts were a big constant in my life,\u201d she said, \u201cand they helped reinforce the encouragement and truth that I needed to stand firm\u201d through what she described as \u201cthe earthquake\u201d of her cancer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she moved with her military husband to San Antonio in 2008, she looked for ways to connect with the cancer community and discovered that Methodist Hospital has the largest inpatient oncology unit in South Texas. She also discovered the disparity between the hospital environment for kids with cancer, which entails colorful rooms, art activities, and plentiful social engagement, and the stark environments of adult oncology units.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roeder brought her background as a professional musical theater actress to bear on her volunteerism, and became the musician-in-residence at Methodist Hospitals in 2010. She developed her work, often singing with an electronic keyboard directly to patients in their rooms, into Hearts Need Art, in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roeder has seen the mood boost that hearing music and making art can provide to cancer patients, even in their darkest moments. She recalls singing \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d for one patient who hadn\u2019t spoken since having a stroke. The patient joined in on the song, and his speech returned afterward. Research backs up her observations<\/a> that music and art can aid in the healing process by improving moods and relieving pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie DeBolt can personally attest to the power of Hearts Need Art. DeBolt also received a cancer diagnosis as a young woman, though at age 21 she was assigned to the adult oncology unit at Methodist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearts Need Art didn\u2019t formally exist yet, though Roeder was already visiting patient rooms to sing and play piano. DeBolt has played piano since age 3, but weakness from her chemotherapy treatments made it impossible for her to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was going through a really stressful time,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving her presence in that hospital room really lifted my spirits. I always looked forward to when she would come in my room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeBolt was so convinced that Roeder\u2019s music helped her healing process that after recovering, she went to work as a Hearts Need Art musician, playing in the very outpatient chemotherapy room where she once received treatment. \u201cIt was a way for me to give back, to pay it forward a little bit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the pandemic shut down all live music and art in hospitals, Roeder quickly pivoted to virtual music presentations, recognizing the value of even recorded music not only to the influx of COVID-19 patients but to overstressed hospital staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hernandez said Hearts Need Art has helped her nursing staff cope with the traumatic experiences brought on by COVID-19, including dealing with the rapid decline of patients, frequent death, and the burden of telling families their loved ones have died.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nurses have a calling to help others, she said, and can suffer when they are unable to help their patients and each other. \u201c[Hearts Need Art] really played a part in the mental state for our health care workers in an effort to help everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe unshakable things<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Needing a boost<\/h4>\n\n\n\n