El Camino Hospital's innovative Healing Arts Program provides a humanistic and holistic approach to healing through humor, music, art, meditative television programming and contact with pets.

The doctors and nurses of El Camino Hospital understand that in order to provide the very best care, they must treat more than physical symptoms. Their multi-faceted Healing Arts Program addresses the emotional needs of patients and families by creating a soothing, compassionate hospital environment, which reduces stress and facilitates quicker healing. According to Dr. Joshua Sickel, who initiated several of the programs, "Healing comes in many forms. This approach is our way of letting the patient know that we care and that we are all in this together."

Healing Humor

Dr. Sickel, a pathologist at El Camino Hospital, is also an amateur standup comedian. He became convinced nearly a decade ago that humor enhances healing. After researching the literature he began to give lectures about pathology, humor and health, promoting the idea that, “When people are hurting, a little humor can make a huge difference.”

At El Camino Hospital, volunteer jester Melissa Parker cheers up patients with her stock of jokes and cart full of stuffed animals, bumper stickers, cards, bubbles, games, windup toys and funny glasses. She roams the hospital floors, connecting with patients and distracting them, for a few moments, from health problems and the hospital routine.

Healing humor is provided even when the jester is not in. Patients can watch episodes of "I Love Lucy," "Carol Burnett’s 25th Reunion," "Johnny Carson’s Greatest Hits" and a variety of standup comics, which are broadcast in a continuous loop on the hospital's closed-circuit humor channel, Channel 34.

Music as Medicine

In 2002, Dr. Sickel began a pilot program to bring music to El Camino Hospital.  He arranged for a few solo musicians to play in different areas of the hospital for a brief time. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and music can now be heard around the hospital several hours a day, five days a week.

Today several professional musicians cart their solo instruments from ward to ward, playing in hallways and along bedsides for patients, staff and visitors. The soothing sounds of jazz and classical guitar, Celtic and double-strung harp, piano and voice create an unexpectedly warm space within the hospital environment.

• Jeff Buenz plays Latin and jazz guitar and bass
• Peter Giordano plays guitar, percussion and keyboard
• Barbary Grant plays Celtic music and traditional song on the Irish harp
• Reta Phillips is a pianist, keyboardist, vocalist, composer and workshop facilitator
• Dona Reyes plays classical Spanish guitar music
• Verlene Schermer is an award-winning singer and harpist
• David Snellbacher plays an assortment of guitar music including old English, Celtic, classical, traditional Christmas carols and contemporary music

Creative Expressions: Painting Classes

Like humor and music, the creation of art can be a life-affirming, healing experience. Professional artist and teacher Tehila Eisenstat has seen first-hand how the process of making art helps patients cope with disease, pain and stress. She teaches painting to cancer, heart and vascular patients at the hospital through her weekly Creative Expressions classes.

Eisenstat developed this program as a way of sharing the joy of art with people in need. She welcomes patients with all levels of painting experience into her class. By carefully demonstrating painting techniques, giving students individual attention, and fostering a non-judgmental, supportive environment, Eisenstat encourages her students to create paintings with depth and movement, and to find their passion and style. In the process these art classes have become a wonderful support group, giving the participants an opportunity to focus together on color and shape rather than needles and pain.

For more information about Tehila Eisenstat, please visit her website.

Creative Expressions: Painting Classes -- Meeting Days & Times:

For Cancer Patients:

• Every Tuesday from 5:30 pm -  7:30 pm
• Every Wednesday from 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Registration is required. To register please call the Cancer Center at 650-988-8338

For Heart and Vascular Patients:

• 1st Wednesday of every month from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Registration is required. To register please call the Heart and Vascular Institute at 650-962-4580











Download a PDF brochure
about Creative Expressions

Rest and Relaxation

To provide some relief from hospital noise and the tension that can sometimes accompany a hospital stay, El Camino Hospital offers two meditative channels on its closed-circuit television. The C.A.R.E. (Continuous Ambient Relaxation Environment) Channel, provides a background of soothing instrumental music and peaceful images of nature during 60 hours of continuous programming. It creates a welcoming, restful atmosphere in patients' rooms, provides increased privacy for patients and their visitors without the distraction of commercial television, helps patients relax during procedures, and masks distracting noises from hallways and other rooms.

Channel 35 is El Camino Hospital's Rest and Relaxation Channel. Patients who tune in can view 10 different programs that are run in a continuous loop four times per day. These programs include guided stress reduction, relaxation, pain management and meditation exercises, affirmations for getting well, and soothing explorations of the beauty of art and nature. In addition to enhancing the hospital environment, these programs give patients positive healing tools that they can access independently and as desired.

Our Rehabilitation Services department offers massage therapy to in-patients and to radiation oncology patients.

Canine Companionship

At El Camino Hospital volunteers affiliated with Therapy Dogs International visit patients on three medical and surgical floors. In order to qualify for this work the dogs undergo a rigorous training and certification process that ensures they meet high standards for obedience, are comfortable in the hospital setting and easygoing with patients. At the hospital the dogs perform tricks on command, allow patients to pet them, and sometimes simply snuggle a patient to bring comfort. Every time a patient's eyes light up when they come into contact with one of these pets, the volunteer sees how much love and healing pets are able to provide. This program is entirely volunteer-run and as such, neither requires nor receives any funds from the hospital or the foundation.

How You Can Help

If you would like to directly support the El Camino Hospital Healing Arts Program, please send your tax-deductible contribution to:

Healing Arts Program
El Camino Hospital Foundation
2500 Grant Road
Mountain View, CA 94040-4378

Please include your name, address, daytime telephone number and email address with your check made payable to El Camino Hospital Foundation. For more information about donations or volunteering for this program please contact the El Camino Hospital Foundation at 650-940-7154.