Think about this, when you are at work, working out, walking, in the car, what do you do? You turn on the music! There is a type of music for every mood, situation, or feeling you may be having. The joy you feel when a good song comes on is the same for our hospice patients. Here at Prairie Home Hospice we like to tap into that feeling whenever we can.
Prairie Home Hospice has been utilizing music therapy since about 1994. In the past, we have had volunteers play music during certain times of the day as well as the Reverie Harp, and radio’s in each room. Now with a decline in volunteers and an increase in available technology we have re-vamped our Music therapy program.
Now, with all the amazing technology available, we are utilizing Amazon Dots for the patient rooms in our hospice Houses. This way when patients are feeling pain, anxiety, or need a boost of positive energy, they can turn the music on whenever they need it.
Music Therapy can help in many ways, I wanted to know what changes our nurses are seeing in our patients rather then throw the “Statistics” at you…
So here are 9 things our nurses see in our patients when utilizing music
- Directs their attention away from pain or anxiety
- Distraction from things going on around them
- Sets a better breathing pattern
- Gives them a release of body tension
- Positive visual imagery
- Deeper relaxation
- Change in mood all together
- Increased positive thoughts from patients
- Brings back pleasant or memorable times in their life.
The goal of hospice in general is to “promote patients’ quality of life by alleviating physiological, psychological, social and spiritual distress, and improve comfort” Music therapy is just one of the many ways that we do this.
Music Therapy is just one of the many amazing reasons why you should make Prairie Home Hospice Your Choice. We will always do the little things that give you and your family to give an extra level of comfort during this difficult time. We talked a little about the Reverie Harp, which is an incredible instrument that we will talk about in another post, stay tuned right here! 😊