VALHALLA N.Y. (June 2, 2022) – Whether the tunes are rock, rap, jazz or a bedtime lullaby, music is employed as a healing therapy at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). With $2,500 in support from the Million Dollar Roundtable Foundation (MDRT), the music therapy program at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital now extends beyond the walls of the hospital with the MusiConnection Initiative, a program that connects hospitalized children to family and friends, through music.
Pandemic safety guidelines changed hospital visitation policies nationwide, some of which made it challenging for a child to interact with siblings, extended family members and classmates, all of whom play supportive roles during a child's hospitalization.
To help facilitate these supportive connections and supply positive distractions for the hospitalized child, the MusiConnection Initiative at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital facilitates therapeutic music opportunities between hospitalized children and their loved ones via virtual music sessions. Instruments and video conferencing technologies purchased by the hospital with funds supplied by the MDRT grant are provided to children in the hospital setting, as well as with the child's "bandmates" outside the hospital. Laurie Park, LCAT, MT-BC, licensed creative arts therapist and board-certified music therapist at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, facilitates the virtual sessions.
"The MusiConnection Initiative gives our young patients the opportunity to stay connected with people that mean the most to them during what can be a challenging time both physically and emotionally," said Park. "Medical music therapy can help support a pediatric patient's physical, spiritual, social, and emotional needs, and we are thankful for this grant from the MDRT Foundation so we can execute the MusicConnection Initiative to its fullest extent by bringing patients and their loved ones together."
The MDRT grant for the MusiConnection Initiative at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital will fund the purchase of a digital tablet as well as a keyboard, headphones, video monitor, musical instruments and various accessories.
Through its global grants programs, the MDRT is committed to building stronger families and communities around the globe. This year, the MDRT Foundation will award over $1.6 million in MDRT member-endorsed grants to over 300 charitable organizations worldwide.
Those seeking to support Maria Fareri Children's Hospital should do so by visiting Give.WMCHealth.org or by reaching out directly at 914.493.2575 or Foundation@WMCHealth.org.
About MDRT
Founded in 1927, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a global, independent association of more than 86,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 70 nations and territories. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct, and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business. For more information, please visit MDRT.org and follow them on Twitter @MDRtweet
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level 1, Level 2, and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes, and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.
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