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The Healing Arts: How art will help healing at new Owatonna HospitalOWATONNA, Minn. 06/23/2008--Owatonna Hospital and the Owatonna Arts Center (OAC) have reached a partnership agreement to provide and curate a Healing Arts Program within the new Owatonna Hospital. The purpose of a healing arts program is to promote a healing environment through art, natural light, images and elements of nature that help reduce the stress and anxiety often associated with healthcare environments.
 At the Institute for Health & Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, art is used to create effective "pleasant distractions" as part of its healing environment beginning at the entrance and carried through the treatment spaces. In the waiting area, a specially commissioned wall light art infuses a positive sense of energy flow. The coffee table is sculpted of reclaimed wood from old neighborhood projects bringing a piece of the community's past to help ground the present space. Permanent and rotating art collections provide patients with "moments of respite" from their wellness concerns as their focus is drawn to the art displays "This is a remarkable community partnership that draws on the Owatonna Arts Center’s expertise to bring elements of art into the healing environment of our new hospital," said Dorothy Erdmann, Owatonna Hospital president. OAC will be the curator of the artwork. “In an era of increased focus on patient satisfaction within healthcare organizations, the arts are a valuable tool in providing a setting in which patients and their families feel welcome and comfortable." A Healing Arts Program allows Owatonna Hospital to provide artwork that will serve patients' needs at various levels. Many of the hallways and public areas throughout the hospital will feature rotating art galleries, showcasing artwork and photography created by local artists, as well as students’ artwork from area schools. "The Owatonna Arts Center welcomes this new partnership. It’s forged upon the view that art heals," said Michael Grenier, director of business development for the Owatonna Arts Center. "Recent evidence shows that art does affect us both individually and collectively. Art possesses a power to physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually improve the quality of our existence." The Society for the Arts in Healthcare with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and Americans for the Arts conducted a recent survey on the level of arts and humanities in U.S. hospitals. The survey, Cultures of Care: A Study of Arts Programs in U.S. Hospitals, shows more than 2,500 hospitals use arts programming to create healing environments, support patient mental and emotional recovery, communicate health information, and foster positive working conditions. Another study showed that patients who are exposed to art with nature themes used less pain medication and experienced shorter hospital stays than those without access to art. While more studies are needed, the arts contribute to the overall healing environment, softening the edges of what can be a very cold and stressful environment. “While all of Allina's hospitals and clinics have arts that enhance our healing environment, this partnership will allow Owatonna Hospital and the Owatonna Arts Center to focus on their respective core missions—Owatonna Hospital's patient-first care and the OAC's community art appreciation,” said Allina Hospitals & Clinics’ Director of Architecture Choy Leow. Leow cited the arts program at the The Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where arts are woven throughout the patient care experience. The artwork speaks to health, healing and spirit—a vital part of the healing environment for patients.
About Owatonna HospitalThe new Owatonna Hospital will be connected to the current Owatonna Clinic-Mayo Health System 26th Street location, off Interstate 35, creating a health care campus. The facility will be designed to create an environment for providing high quality, safe, patient-centered care for residents in the region. Owatonna Hospital and Allina Hospitals & Clinics are taking a leadership role to promote healthy eating and physical activity through their heart healthy living and obesity initiatives with an emphasis on childhood obesity. Over the next five years, Allina and Owatonna Hospital will be working with community organizations to improve nutrition and increase physical activity to decrease obesity and improve heart health.
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