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ART AND
MEDICINE
The Art of Healing
By Allison Hays Lane, Archivist & Art Program Manager, University Health System
“Variety of form and brilliancy of
color in the object presented to patients
are an actual means of recovery.”
– Florence Nightingale
For generations, the arts have been regarded as a crucial part of
our human experience and a critical part of the development of a
civilized world. They play a role in education, cultural awareness
and reflections of our society. Communities around the world
value music, writing and visual arts, which serve as a gauge of a
cohesive, progressive society. A society that values what art draws
us into — unexpected beauty, the questioning of life’s challenging
aspects — is a society that possesses empathy and compassion, and
embraces diversity.
Over the last 60 years, a growing awareness of art’s value in the
healing process has become a vital and essential aspect for the un-
derstanding of healing and the human condition. The integration
of art into recovery is now seen as a therapeutic platform that enables of University Hospital and the historic Robert B. Green Campus in
the healing process to provide a foundation of hope and positive dis-
traction, for finding new meaning and calming fears. The Latin ori-
gin of the word curator is “curare,” which means to take care of
objects in an archive, museum or library. A more creative and mod-
ern interpretation, however, could apply to the process of caring for
patients and their families in a hospital or clinical setting.
Art in healing can take many forms — a terminal cancer patient
creating art until the last moments; premature babies in a NICU
calmed by the sound of a live harpist or flutist; and patients re-
ceiving chemotherapy over long hours, surrounded by music and
artwork, and using that time to color or record their thoughts in
a journal. All of these reflect the multi-faceted paradigm which is
art in healing.
Artist and painter David Blancas was a pediatric patient at Uni-
versity Hospital in 1977, having a tumor removed from his neck at
18 San Antonio Medicine • July 2017
age five. Forty years later, Blancas has returned to create artwork and
designs for a new pediatric pre- and post-operative area in our new
Sky Tower. These areas use artful tropical jungle animals to provide
an uplifting and positive distraction from the surgical procedures at
hand. The artwork also plays a role in wayfinding by directing the
patient to the “elephant” or “hippo” room. It is interesting to see the
transformation of a healing setting through art, and the artist’s direct
connection to the patient experience.
More than a decade ago, Bexar County Commissioners Court,
the Bexar County Hospital District Board of Managers, University
Health System staff and civic leaders began their own journey into
the art of healing as they envisioned the expansion and renovation
downtown San Antonio. The $899 million Capital Improvement
Program included a $7.2 million design enhancement and public
art component. A team began researching how other parts of the
country incorporated evidence-based design using color, forms and
natural light in a healthcare setting.
We toured Harborview Medical Center in Seattle; Dell Children's
Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin; Indiana University
Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis; and Harvard Brigham
and Women's/Children's Hospital in Boston. Exceptional national
models like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic also were profiled
to gain a broad, across-the-board perspective of how to successfully
inject art as an integral facet of a healthcare environment. LEED ar-
chitectural design, xeriscape landscaping, aromatherapy with herbal
plants, and infusing light and colors in public spaces all contribute
to the overall philosophy. These contribute to patients feeling less
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