How the Mayo Clinic is using the arts to improve patient care

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is utilizing the arts to enhance patient care, particularly for individuals with Alzheimer's and dementia. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports for the CANVAS series, highlighting the unconventional approach taken by the medical community.

Angela Lunde, from the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Mayo Clinic, explains that dementia demands new communication tools. This is where improvisational theater, or improv, comes into play. Tane Danger, a Minneapolis-based improv artist and Mayo Clinic's first Artist in Residence, teaches a workshop on dementia care. Improv helps improve listening skills and adaptability, essential for caregivers working with patients whose realities have changed.

The Mayo Clinic's Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine integrates arts and humanities into patient care. Dr. Scott Breitinger, the medical director of this center, emphasizes the importance of art in creating hope, serenity, and joy for patients. The center's mission, since the 1980s, is to bring cutting-edge clinical innovation alongside human spirit rejuvenation.

At Mayo Clinic, art and music are integral parts of patient care. Heart transplant recipient Meghan Sly enjoys the Arts at the Bedside program, while live concerts and the carillon music provide therapeutic benefits to staff and patients alike. The Mayo Clinic is the only medical center in North America with a carillon that chimes a recital every weekday. Patient Jeremiah Simmons shares how singing helps alleviate stress.

Katie Van Buren, who leads the Humanities in Medicine programs across Mayo's campuses, notes that the arts benefit patients in multiple ways, including reducing stress, alleviating pain, and fostering emotional support and connection. Tane Danger concludes that connection and communication are the key takeaways from their workshops.