At the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, part of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), art is an important tool to engage and distract patients and their families and to help them cope with the stress and anxiety related to visiting the hospital. Eighteen (18) schools within Oakland and Northern Macomb Counties will be helping to create an enhanced healing environment within the new facility, with artwork. The Children’s Hospital of Michigan – Troy, David K. Page Building, located at 350 W. Big Beaver Road, is slated to open by year-end.
Each school has been invited to engage its art students in designing a mosaic mural that represents one of the four seasons. The students ranging in grades from Kindergarten to 12 were asked to include inspirational words that best represent the season their art installation will depict.
Grace Serra, art advisor for the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, noted, “Clinical studies conducted in health care settings have shown the link between nature and healing.¹ Exposure to nature, both passive and interactive, serves to augment medical treatment by providing mental and physiological benefits that contribute to healing.”
As a past partner of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Utica Community Schools (UCS) have enthusiastically stepped up to help create original art for the new Children’s Hospital of Michigan – Troy. Utica Community Schools have previously worked with the Hospital’s main campus to create art that intrigues and engages patients and families. The schedule for creating art with the Utica Community Schools for Children’s new Troy facility includes: Beacon Tree Elementary (2/04), Morgan Elementary (2/06), Shelby Junior High School (2/13), Harvey Elementary (2/24), and All High Schools National Art Honor Society (2/27).
Students will work side-by-side to create their artwork with professional muralists throughout the project. Gail Rosenbloom Kaplan, a local professional ceramic artist with ties to Pewabic Pottery, has designed and supervised the execution of many community mosaic installations throughout the metropolitan Detroit area. In collaboration with fellow artist Dani Katsir, Gail has worked with both children and senior citizens to create large scale pieces that bring beauty to a variety of unique spaces. The participants she works with feel a sense of pride and ownership as a result of the permanent installation of the artwork in their communities.
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About the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, www.childrensdmc.org
For more than 125 years, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan is the first hospital in the state dedicated exclusively to the treatment of children. With more than 40 pediatric medical and surgical specialties and services, the hospital is a leader internationally in neurology and neurosurgery, cardiology, oncology, and diagnostic services; it is ranked one of America’s best hospitals for children and sees more children than any hospital in the state. More Michigan pediatricians are trained at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan than at any other facility. Children’s Hospital of Michigan is one of eight hospitals operated by the Detroit Medical Center (DMC).
¹ “Healing :: Green Cities: Good Health”, University of Washington, College of the Environment, September 11, 2014. http://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/Thm_Healing.html