Staffers at NYC hospitals find creative way to reduce stress with art program: ‘A breath of fresh air’
Some New York City hospitals are taking a creative approach to reducing stress and anxiety for workers — and it’s being described as a “breath of fresh air.”
NYC Health + Hospitals recently expanded its longtime Artist in Residence program, which offers classes in a variety of mediums to those in their care, to include staff — and one of the five new teachers is a former patient who knows first-hand how beneficial having a creative outlet can be.
“It helped me. It really took the edge off,” Harlem-based artist and two-time breast cancer survivor Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper told The Post Thursday.
The program, which is part of Health + Hospital’s Arts in Medicine department, helped her relax during her 2008 treatment at Bellevue Hospital — and inspired her to follow her artistic dreams at age 52. She did a nine-year artist residency at another facility before she began teaching at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx in December as part of this expanded initiative.
“Research has shown that embedding artists in health care settings provides an additional outlet for patients, families and caregivers to decompress and find joy in their day,” Larissa Trinder, vice president of Arts in Medicine said in a statement.
She told The Post Thursday that directors at the five Health + Hospitals pilot facilities — Gotham Health, Lincoln, North Central Bronx, Kings County and Elmhurst — saw the artist-in-residence expansion as “a need for their staff.”
The program has been well-received by staff, according to anonymous staff feedback surveys viewed by The Post from the North Central Bronx facility.
“It is relaxing and fun. It’s a great way to express yourself,” one participant wrote.
“A breath of fresh air and an activity of pure joy. I loved being able to express my creative side [at] work and relax,” another shared.
“It was great! Everyone was in a happy mood. I enjoyed it [and] look forward to other programs,” one worker added.
“Expanding the programs to staff will increase wellness and resiliency and bring much-needed comfort and care to those who are there every day working tirelessly on our behalf,” Laurie Tisch, founder of the namesake fund that helped launch and support Arts in Medicine in 2019.
In addition to Grant-Cooper, the artists-in-residence doing year-long paid stints are Nikki Schiro, who will be based at Gotham Health Hospital; Cibele Vieira at North Central Bronx; Livia Ihinosen Ohihoin at Kings County; and Carla Torres at Elmhurst.
Classes — ranging from painting, sketching and photography to creative writing, botanical printing and fabric dying — will be taught weekly and include regular artist exhibitions for staff, Health + Hospitals said.
“They need the stress relief,” Grant-Cooper said, adding that while it’s challenging for some staffers to find time to join in, she has seen art “just explode out of” those who do.
“They seem to talk about it all week.”
The creative is stationed in the employee lounge and offers classes that include card- and jewelry-making and fiber arts that range from 15 minutes to an hour.
“The program is designed to be inclusive of both patients and staff, however, we are hoping to focus on groups separately in order to give each group a customized experience,” Trinder said.
With hospital staff constantly busy taking care of patients, Grant-Cooper likes to find short activities they can participate in on their breaks to still give them a sense of relief and to tap into their creative juices.
In just two months, she’s watched them “blossom.”
“I’m only there for the staff, which I think is a wonderful thing.”
