H
aving music playing in a surgical facility
can make patients more comfortable. As a
nurse who's also a Julliard-trained violin-
ist, I've taken it a step further by performing live,
when I have the time, for individual patients. It's
delivered therapeutic benefits and pleasantly sur-
prising results. If you have musicians in your facility
— or if you're one yourself — you might want to try
it, too.
Because this is unorthodox, you'll need buy-in
from your superiors. My patients won my bosses
over. The minute patients are exposed to it, they'll
sell it for you. They'll be your biggest fans. Our
administration and managers were overwhelmed by
that feedback. And they're thrilled from a marketing
standpoint. We've gotten great word of mouth and
local television coverage from this.
Live music can also help you individualize the
patient care experience. I ask patients what their
preferences are. I won't play my classical stuff if
they want something different. Some like gospel,
country, popular tunes. Play whatever makes them
feel good. So much of healing is psychological and
spiritual — having the will to live, feeling at peace.
Music plays really strongly into that. Music thera-
pists find that when patients are exposed to music,
their anxiety levels go down, less medication is
required for people with trauma or PTSD, people
with hypertension or high blood pressure normal-
ize, patients' heart and respiratory rates slow.
Sara Kapinos, RN
Bridgton (Maine) Hospital,
Central Maine Healthcare
kapinosa@cmhc.org
A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7
Live Music Can Bring
Happiness and Healing to Patients
VIOLIN SOLO
• TAKING NOTES Sara Kapinos, RN, has
played for audiences all over the world.
Now she's promoting mental and physical
healing through her music at her hospital.
Bridgton
(Maine)
Hospital,
Central
Maine
Healthcare
