Research shows that music is the first outside sensation that registers with a developing fetus, and the last that registers with a dying patient. That’s why Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care has created a comprehensive music therapy program as an integral part of its discipline team. The program is positively affecting both the physical and emotional well being of its patients and their families.
“Seasons is at the forefront of music therapy,” said Pedro Del Campo, Executive Director of Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care, a national leader in the provision of end-of-life care. “It is our most requested service at the time of admission, and helps differentiate Seasons from other hospice companies.”
Music therapy is defined as “an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of individuals of all ages.” It has been around since World War II, when it was used to calm soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. Since then the introduction of music in a variety of rehabilitation and palliative care settings has steadily increased.
“Today, Seasons Hospice is one of the largest employers of music therapists in the U.S., and one of the first to include music therapy as a core discipline, rather than an afterthought,” said Joseph Goelz, a full-time music therapist at the Miami facility, which was formerly Miami Jewish Gardens Douglas Gardens Hospice.The goals of music therapy in hospice and palliative care are to alleviate depression and anxiety, manage pain, and help patients and their families form better interpersonal relationships and communicate their feelings. “Music therapy provides a sense of serenity, comfort and dignity during the dying process,” Goelz said. “It also helps support and guide families through the grieving process as part of our bereavement program.”
At Seasons, music therapy is incorporated into a patient’s care plan upon admission, based on the person’s physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual needs. Patients undergo a thorough music therapy assessment to determine the type and frequency of therapy required. Music therapy may be provided anywhere from once a month to several times a day, depending on the patient’s individual needs.
Music therapy services at Seasons are provided for a number of languages and cultures, including English, Creole, Spanish, Yiddish and Hebrew.
“Guitar, keyboard and voice work best at the individual bedside,” Goelz noted, “but the very social nature of music lends itself as an ideal modality to engage an isolated patient of an assisted living facility or nursing home with other residents who can benefit as well, even if they are not Seasons Hospice patients.”
The prerequisite for a music therapist is a four-year degree in music, as well as a six-month 40-hour a week internship, where the therapist works in a facility with a board certified music therapist.
“Music therapists are more than just entertainers, “ Goelz noted. “They must be quality musicians – soothing and proficient – but they are also highly trained therapists qualified to observe, facilitate and document how music is impacting their patients. They collaborate with other disciplines to monitor behavior outcomes and observe physical signs such as respiration rates, facial expressions and body posture in order to bring about positive changes. They also look at outcomes such as patient and family satisfaction with the music therapy services.”
Goelz recalls a dementia patient who was withdrawn and only made clicking sounds. Taking time to listen to the sounds, he determined they were in a particular rhythm, which appeared to be associated with the song, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” He played the song, and at that time, the patient sat up and sang very clearly, even though she had not spoken for months – This had been a special wedding song that she and her husband had shared many years ago.
“Memories and associations are still locked away despite the outward appearance of the patient” he said. “I take comfort in knowing that as a music therapist, I can reach patients and families who are otherwise unreachable. Because of the organized structure and pervasiveness of music, something happens in their brain and stimulates a response.”
Seasons Hospice, a leading nationwide trainer of how music therapy services are provided in hospice care, will soon add a second full-time music therapist in South Florida.
“We want to be the leader in facilitating cutting edge research to measure and improve outcomes as to how effective we are with the patients,” said Goelz. “We want to remain the leading provider of hospice services with music therapy at the forefront,” he said.
