International Leadership in Arts and Health
Helen Currier
Helen is Director of Pheresis, Dialysis and Renal Services, Vascular Access, Wound, Ostomy, Continence and Palliative Care Services at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
Helen is a pre-eminent nursing figure in national professional groups and serves on the board of the Houston Boychoir. She acknowledges the importance of the environment in healing and is an enthusiast for The Art of Texas Children's Hospital. Currier was an instrumental member of a design team emphasizing healing environments for pediatric HIV/AIDS clinics in Africa.
Helen recently served on the board of directors for the Alliance for Arts & Health (formerly the Society for the Arts in Healthcare) and now leads a certification effort for artists in healthcare. Her varied nursing experiences have brought her to the realization that the healing arts are an important supplement to drug or technology-based treatment.
At Texas Children's Hospital Helen facilitates an Arts & Health council that incorporates the full spectrum of the arts across the system, including design, visual, performing and literary arts, resulting in programs and healthcare environments that are healing for patients and their families.
Arts and Health at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston
Texas Children's Hospital is the largest pediatric facility in the United States and has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthrough developments in the treatment of congenital heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, HIV and premature babies.
The Hospital's Arts & Health Council oversees the full spectrum of the arts across the healthcare system, including design, visual, performing and literary arts, resulting in programs and healthcare environments that are healing for patients and their families. The Art Collection at Texas Children's Hospital is one of the finest in the United States.
This presentation will review the strategic development of arts and health policy and practice at Texas Children's Hospital and provide insights into making arts and health programs an integral part of a major hospital in the USA. Helen will profile the Hospital's commitment to develop a child-centred environment that engages young patients' creativity in the service of recovery and to bring together a community of support that extends throughout Houston and to other parts of the world.
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