Northside Hospital-Forsyth Seeks Volunteer Musicians to Provide Healing Sounds
The next time you visit Northside Hospital-Forsyth, you may hear something you wouldn’t normally expect… live music. In an effort to create a more calm and healing environment, the hospital is introducing “Healing Sounds,” a program which brings music into the hospital through live performances with local volunteer musicians. The hospital is currently seeking musicians from the community to volunteer to participate in the program.
Research shows that music has a profound effect on the healing process, easing pain and reducing depression and anxiety. Healing Sounds offers musicians the opportunity to share their talents with patients, family members and staff, who function in what can be a high-stress environment. Special performances will be scheduled in the main lobby of the hospital, as well as in the Women’s Center and on patient floors. In time, Northside hopes to provide an ongoing variety of live music throughout the hospital.
“This program will allow performers to provide soothing sounds to the terminally ill, music to calm patients in pain and also may be used in a rehabilitation setting,” said Gloria Wyatt, coordinator, Northside Hospital-Forsyth Auxiliary. “The number of individuals in our community – including our hospital staff, patients and their families, who will be touched by this program, is unlimited and the rewards will be phenomenal.”
The Northside Hospital-Atlanta Auxiliary implemented Healing Sounds at Northside’s Atlanta campus in 1999 and the program has been a tremendous success ever since. Over the years, the program has grown to include special live performances, as well as Healing Sounds on TV (on the hospital’s in-house cable channel) and cassettes, CDs and videos, available for checkout in the hospital’s library.
“I am so excited and pleased to be able to introduce Healing Sounds at the Northside Hospital-Forsyth campus,” said Wyatt, who added that performances should begin mid-September. “Although, in the beginning, we only will have live performances, I hope to add more offerings via video, CD and the hospital cable channel soon.”
Northside Hospital-Forsyth’s Healing Sounds program is being made possible through a generous grant from the Forsyth County Arts Alliance (FCAA). Musicians, who are interested in learning more about the program or who would like to volunteer their time, should contact Gloria Wyatt, Northside Hospital-Forsyth Auxiliary, at 770-844-3587 or gloria.wyatt@northside.com.
