DHMC receives 2017 Governor’s Arts Award for Arts in Health

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center won the 2017 Owl Award for Excellence in the Arts for Best Art Exhibitions.  The Owl Awards are voted on by the readers of The Complete Hoot which is a comprehensive online arts publication and calendar serving the Upper Valley.

The Creative Arts Team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, pictured about with NH Governor Sununu, received the NH Governor’s Award for Arts in Healthcare on Nov. 1st.  The award was given in recognition of the work they have been doing at Norris Cotton Cancer Center for many years and their new expansion into all departments at D-H including Psychiatry, Neurology, Cardiology, Medical Specialties, the ICN and ICU.  The team is comprised of a Writer/Poet/Story Teller, Marv Klassen-Landis, a therapeutic harpist, Margaret Stephens and visual artist, Christine Orcutt Henderson. The program at D-H is unique in that is 100% patient centered. The team visits patients at the bedside offering art, music and writing as part of the holistic approach to care at D-H – meeting patients “where they are” and assessing what would help the patient the most at that given time.  They also offer group classes.

At Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, as well as other medical centers, studies have shown the positive impact of art activities with patients including: increased patient satisfaction and self-esteem, pain reduction, shorter hospital stays and decreased feelings of anxiety and depression. Currently, the program is entirely philanthropically supported.

The team is honored to receive this award that emphasizes the value of art and music in a hospital setting and the integral role the arts play in the holistic approach to healthcare at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

For more photos of the Governor’s Arts Awards click here.