Embedding Music in Care at Mayo Clinic

As interest in arts in health care contexts grows, arts practitioners and scholars are pointing to the need for more strategic and sustainable approaches that will enable the continued growth of programming in the future. It is critical not only to identify factors necessary for developing new programming but also to consider how to fully embed services within an institution or system. This case study examines the provision of music services for patients by the Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, as one example of how arts programming for patients can be embedded into an institution. Although this case offers a useful example of how programming can be enhanced by aligning with existing structures and refining processes, it also draws attention to the tension between an ideal framework for embedding programming and the challenges that can come from limited resources.