June 2021 Featured Interview
Combining Arts and Medicine to Help Patients Heal
Interview with
David W. Friedman, M.D., FACS
Director of the Arts & Medicine Center at Cleveland Clinic Florida
Photo Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic Florida
About David:
David W. Friedman, M.D., FACS, currently heads the Section of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery for Cleveland Clinic Florida and serves as Director of the Arts & Medicine Center. His specialty interests include fractures of the hand, wrist, and distal radius, microsurgery, nerve compressions, sports injuries, arthritis and reconstructive surgery. He works collaboratively with the Departments of Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery.
David obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin and obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Southeastern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He then completed advanced training in General Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and in Plastic Surgery as well as Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at New York University Medical Center’s Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York, NY.
David began his accomplished career teaching at New York University Medical Center as an assistant professor in the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery within the Division of Plastic Surgery. He also worked for nine years as the Director of Hand Surgery at Bellevue Hospital Center, the flagship hospital of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. During that time, he also served as the Hand Surgery Fellowship Program Director and was Police Surgeon for the NYPD.
He joined Cleveland Clinic Florida in 2008 and started the Arts & Medicine Center in 2012. Since joining Cleveland Clinic Florida, he has served in many leadership roles including Chair of Plastic Surgery, Chair of Dermatology, and Director of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Center.
David's expertise in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery has been a valued addition to the Cleveland Clinic team adding significantly to the diversification of top-quality care that the Cleveland Clinic strives to provide.
David obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin and obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Southeastern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He then completed advanced training in General Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and in Plastic Surgery as well as Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at New York University Medical Center’s Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York, NY.
David began his accomplished career teaching at New York University Medical Center as an assistant professor in the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery within the Division of Plastic Surgery. He also worked for nine years as the Director of Hand Surgery at Bellevue Hospital Center, the flagship hospital of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. During that time, he also served as the Hand Surgery Fellowship Program Director and was Police Surgeon for the NYPD.
He joined Cleveland Clinic Florida in 2008 and started the Arts & Medicine Center in 2012. Since joining Cleveland Clinic Florida, he has served in many leadership roles including Chair of Plastic Surgery, Chair of Dermatology, and Director of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Center.
David's expertise in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery has been a valued addition to the Cleveland Clinic team adding significantly to the diversification of top-quality care that the Cleveland Clinic strives to provide.
About Cleveland Clinic's Arts & Medicine Program:
The mission of the program is to practice and investigate the use of the arts in healing, to enhance the Cleveland Clinic experience through the arts, and to build community around the arts, health and medicine. This mission takes the form of direct patient services (art therapy and music therapy), research, performances in public areas, art installed throughout the health system, public lectures, workshops and community events.
The mission of the program is to practice and investigate the use of the arts in healing, to enhance the Cleveland Clinic experience through the arts, and to build community around the arts, health and medicine. This mission takes the form of direct patient services (art therapy and music therapy), research, performances in public areas, art installed throughout the health system, public lectures, workshops and community events.
Myrna Beth Haskell spoke with David about his role as director of the Arts & Medicine program at Cleveland Clinic Florida, the specific programs available at the Florida hospitals, and how the arts help to heal as well as calm patients before and after procedures.
Is the Arts & Medicine program available at all of the Cleveland Clinic Florida locations or just Weston?
Is the Arts & Medicine program available at all of the Cleveland Clinic Florida locations or just Weston?
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I spent time at Cleveland Clinic Ohio and saw what they were doing with the program. I knew right away that I wanted to bring it to Florida. Dr. Toby Cosgrove, former CEO and president, was a big proponent of the arts, and the program launched there in 2008.* We launched the program in 2012 in Weston. It is now offered at Cleveland Clinic Weston (clinic and hospital), Braathen Neurological Center (located on the Weston campus), Krupa Center (located on the Weston campus), Cleveland Clinic Coral Springs (outpatient facility), Tomsich Health and Medical Center of Palm Beach County.
The program centers around visual and performing arts – formal music and art therapies, exhibitions, performances and education. The program has also become an integral part of the communities where the hospitals are located. We try to integrate with local artists, schools and other programs. The focus is to be a good neighbor and to create a positive impact. *The Art Program was established in Ohio in 2006 as an in-house curatorial department. In 2008, Toby Cosgrove, M.D., former CEO and president, launched Arts & Medicine to formally organize all of Cleveland Clinic’s arts and cultural activities. (clevelandclinic.org) |
Ira Gutzeit Performing in the Lobby of the Weston Clinic
Photo Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic Florida |
What inspired you to be involved in this program?
It goes back to my training in New York. I had a mentor who brought his Sony Walkman into work (this was obviously pretty long ago), and he would select music for his patients to listen to before going into the operating room. I hadn’t thought about doing something like this before, but I saw how calm it made the patients feel. Once I saw how the Arts & Medicine program worked, I knew it would produce [a positive healing environment] for patients.
What does your role as Director entail?
Dr. Friedman explained that he coordinates the various exhibitions, performances and other community-related events.
I coordinate the visiting performances – the local symphony orchestras, the visiting school groups, etc. I also coordinate the temporary art installations. These are selected and rotated several times per year. Visiting artists are scheduled to give brief, informal 10 to 15-minute talks about their work. Caregiver exhibits and patient exhibits are also planned. We had an exhibit showing the work of patients battling cancer. We also have a curator for a permanent installation through Ohio.
It goes back to my training in New York. I had a mentor who brought his Sony Walkman into work (this was obviously pretty long ago), and he would select music for his patients to listen to before going into the operating room. I hadn’t thought about doing something like this before, but I saw how calm it made the patients feel. Once I saw how the Arts & Medicine program worked, I knew it would produce [a positive healing environment] for patients.
What does your role as Director entail?
Dr. Friedman explained that he coordinates the various exhibitions, performances and other community-related events.
I coordinate the visiting performances – the local symphony orchestras, the visiting school groups, etc. I also coordinate the temporary art installations. These are selected and rotated several times per year. Visiting artists are scheduled to give brief, informal 10 to 15-minute talks about their work. Caregiver exhibits and patient exhibits are also planned. We had an exhibit showing the work of patients battling cancer. We also have a curator for a permanent installation through Ohio.
Heifetz Group Performing at Weston Clinic
Photo Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic Florida |
I’d love to hear a bit more about the music and fine arts therapy programs.
We provide formal music therapy* as well as art therapy for our patients. There is dedicated studio space in the Maroone Cancer Center located on the Weston hospital campus for both art and music therapy sessions. Patients made cancer quilts as a group, and they have access to our music collection. We have musicians who travel the hallways and perform in private rooms. [These performances had to be temporarily suspended during the pandemic]. The clinic also establishes clinical trials to study the effects of art and music on healing.** *Music therapy provides a unique opportunity for self-expression, distraction, comfort, and support. The clinic’s board-certified music therapists combine music and therapeutic techniques to address the physical, emotional, or psychosocial needs encountered by patients and families undergoing treatment for cancer. Interventions may include listening to, reflecting on, or actively making music. Patients and families are encouraged to join in if they are able and willing. (clevelandclinic.org) |
** There are many arts programs in the world but relatively few have a research component. With the research experience, knowledge and skill of the Arts & Medicine Institute team, and our mission of investigating the use of the arts in healing, we embarked on an ambitious attempt to research the impact of the arts on community members with chronic conditions. (Cleveland Clinic Newsletter: Volume IV, 2018)
Tell me a bit about the arts and mindfulness programs that are available to patients via their cell phones or patient televisions.
The Ohio institute developed videos that relate to art collections. A video loop is accessible to anyone and a loop runs on high resolution monitors. There’s an audio art tour of 120 pieces in Ohio and 35 different pieces in Florida. We have a cell phone tour called “Art Break,” where the artwork is described by artists and guest curators. There is also a phone app with meditations, relaxation techniques and yoga practices as part of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.
Note: Arts Videos On-Demand (presented by the Arts & Medicine Institute) can be accessed on Cleveland Clinic Patient Television. These short documentary films highlight the life and work of visual artists, musicians, writers, architects and others who have been awarded a Cleveland Arts Prize.
Do you have a specific example of how you’ve seen the arts heal?
I knew a gentleman who had undergone significant cardiac procedures and was having trouble with post-op medications. We wanted to get him through this post-op phase, so we gave him his own player to listen to. He turned a corner in two to three days and was able to stop the pain medications. The music brought him comfort and helped him to experience a positive recovery.
Tell me a bit about the arts and mindfulness programs that are available to patients via their cell phones or patient televisions.
The Ohio institute developed videos that relate to art collections. A video loop is accessible to anyone and a loop runs on high resolution monitors. There’s an audio art tour of 120 pieces in Ohio and 35 different pieces in Florida. We have a cell phone tour called “Art Break,” where the artwork is described by artists and guest curators. There is also a phone app with meditations, relaxation techniques and yoga practices as part of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.
Note: Arts Videos On-Demand (presented by the Arts & Medicine Institute) can be accessed on Cleveland Clinic Patient Television. These short documentary films highlight the life and work of visual artists, musicians, writers, architects and others who have been awarded a Cleveland Arts Prize.
Do you have a specific example of how you’ve seen the arts heal?
I knew a gentleman who had undergone significant cardiac procedures and was having trouble with post-op medications. We wanted to get him through this post-op phase, so we gave him his own player to listen to. He turned a corner in two to three days and was able to stop the pain medications. The music brought him comfort and helped him to experience a positive recovery.
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The pandemic had an enormous impact on hospitals – staff and supply shortages, delivery delays, overcrowding, changes to visitor policy, etc. How did the pandemic affect the Arts & Medicine program and what changes needed to be made to continue to provide a level of arts therapy?
We, of course, wanted to continue the program, but we needed to think out-of-the-box while abiding by specific pandemic restrictions. One strategy was creating approximately 500 Art Therapy and Mindfulness Kits for patients who were here for more than a few days. These kits included, stress balls, art supplies (such as Mandala coloring books and markers), headphones, audio art tours, and links to music, meditation and other mindfulness exercises. We wanted to bring the arts right to the patients’ rooms. It helped patients tremendously and allayed their anxiety. Have you thought about continuing to make these available to patients who are immobile, even after the pandemic is under control? Yes. We would like to continue to include this as an option for the program even once the pandemic is completely under control. Any final thoughts?
What we’re really trying to do is to help our communities as a whole – patients, caregivers and visitors. The CDC is continually changing the guidelines, but we’re hoping to be doing performances again and to expand our services even more. |
Kaitlyn Kelly (Dr. Friedman's daughter) holds one of the
Art Therapy & Mindfulness Kits |
