If you are looking for someone who knows a lot about what a hospital environment is like, Rosalind Ebrom is a good candidate. She has been working in them since she was 13, first as a candy striper in a red and white pinafore and later as a pediatric nurse. In those early days, she saw firsthand how drab the environment in some hospitals used to be; as an artist, her senses are especially attuned to the aesthetics of a place and the effect that has on people.
Nineteen years ago, she added Art Curator to her career roles. Phil McCorkle, former president and CEO of Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, established the Art and Ambiance Committee there in 2006. He was a passionate advocate for the healing power of art, Ebrom said: “He thought that art nourishes wellbeing, improves recovery, and even boosts staff morale.”
The many faces of art curation
Art in background by Maribeth Weadock. Photo by Teri Genovese.
The Saint Mary’s Foundation advanced this vision of wellness outcomes by bringing her on board. Michelle Rabideau, president of the Saint Mary’s Foundation, noted that a volunteer art curator is quite a unique position in health care systems: “We are very grateful to have someone like Rosalind Ebrom who is an artist and a former neonatal nurse who brings this extremely specialized combination of expertise and passion to our organization.”
One of Ebrom’s first focus areas was to help others understand that the purpose of art in a hospital is not the same as art in a living room or gallery. “Art in a healing setting is more than decoration,” she said. At Trinity Health Grand Rapids, art must follow established policies such as being inspirational, using calming colors, and not having recognizable faces or aggressive subjects. The red that Ebrom wore when she first started out is a color that you’ll likely not find to be prominent in the art at Trinity Health Grand Rapids; “It may be interpreted as blood,” she noted.
Art curation takes many forms at Trinity Health Grand Rapids, from special projects such as creating a visual theme in newly constructed spaces to working with the guest artists who are featured for three months at a time in the main lobby of the hospital. Ebrom points out that the work she does is always collaborative. The Art and Ambiance Committee includes people with expertise in both art and in medicine. Art-enriched environments can be found throughout the health care systems’ buildings, including The Lacks Cancer Center, the Hauenstein Neuroscience Center, and the Wege Center for Health and Learning.
When the hospital began to prepare for a major renovation of four wings on the seventh and eighth floors, Ebrom and the committee were there at the original architectural design stage. As the spaces took shape, they were on site to visualize potential art placement. The nursing team on the floors suggested that Michigan’s seasons become a permanent feature for each of the four wings, a theme that resonates with patients, staff, and visitors.
Featuring guest artists
Other areas of the hospital have art that changes every season. Guest artists apply to be featured in the main lobby, and a team determines whose work will be displayed. Ebrom works with each artist from start to finish, helping choose pieces, introducing the artist to the hospital community, and being on site for the installation. Artists have the option to sell their work; twenty-five percent of any sales is donated to the Foundation.
The Foundation encourages work by Michigan artists. Frankfort-based Ellie Harold was a recent guest artist. In addition to being an artist, she has been both a nurse and a minister. So she knows a bit about healing. She recalled the artwork that was on display at the first hospital she worked in, a stern portrait of the person who founded the hospital.
In contrast, Harold chose some of her most colorful work for Trinity Health Grand Rapids. The paintings, some of which were completed during the pandemic, had another thing in common: Many feature birds. “Birds are intuitive messengers of hope and healing for a troubled world,” she said. She went on to tell the story of a patient she met in another hospital who chose one of her displayed pieces to give to a sister who had been a great support to her during her time of illness and grief. Harold finds joy in being part of generating wellness: “You never know when you’ll make a connection, when your art will touch someone.”
Generating wellness
Ebrom, too, believes in art’s ability to help others heal, both physically and emotionally. She tells of visitors who have found particular pieces that they return to during a relative’s lengthy stay, for respite and comfort. One, she said, a visitor told her of the peace he felt as he sat in front of a landscape after learning of his wife’s serious diagnosis. And one farm scene, painted with striking shadows and light due to the artist’s limited vision, reminded a patient who was being transported past it of the rural home she enjoyed.
Wellness in a hospital can show up through brush marks on canvas and paper. Rabideau notes that when a piece from the Guest Artist series sells, it is often because It may bring the viewer calm or relief from a stressful situation, “or,” she continued, “it simply takes them to another place for a moment to give them comfort, peace, or a pause to reflect.”
Unlike some old-style hospital spaces, Ebrom’s work as an art curator is never dull. The position includes researching what artists or artwork may help contribute to the hospital’s healing environment, caring for the art that is part of the collection, and working with art installers to hang the art. Diplomacy is an important part of her work, she said. It also includes education: Ebrom creates internal press releases for the Guest Artist series, and she provides insights to the Foundation about artists and art selections. She also gives tours when requested.
Art is therapy, Rabideau says, part of an approach to patient care, beyond the physical, “addressing not just the body, but also the mind and spirit.” This holistic approach extends even further than the art on the walls. Music therapy, and pet-assisted therapy provide comfort and focus for patients and visitors during stressful times. A wellness lounge for staff is outfitted with massage chairs, coloring books, and other calming exercises to provide choice for individuals and their unique needs. And it doesn’t stop there. The gift shop in the main lobby stocks items that “promote wellness, recovery, and delight,” Rabideau notes.
Make room for joy
Saint Mary’s Foundation posted a welcome to Harold on social media back in October of last year. The artist shared her own view of the power of art to generate wellness — for the artist and for the viewer: “Painting intuitively demonstrates what seems to be an ever-present, almost magical, capacity for generating joy, even in the midst of difficult circumstances…. Creative solutions to life’s challenges cannot be forced or controlled but, when given space, will emerge spontaneously and full of joy.” Ebrom’s drive to bring artists and their work into the daily life of a hospital creates that space. For comfort, certainly. For respite, most definitely. And for healing of body and spirit, most joyfully.
