About MusicMDs
MusicMDs is an outreach organization of youth musicians (high school & university) who volunteer their music to promote patient healing in hospitals. MusicMDs actively assists in the healing process by providing live, one-on-one musical performances and engaging dialogue to individual patients in hospitals. Founded in Central Florida in 2009, MusicMDs expanded to the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts as well as the Houston, Texas area.
The MusicMDs Mission
Volunteer to: provide live musical performances for patients in healthcare settings, to reduce stress for patients, family members, and healthcare staff; promote feelings of well-being, happiness, and empathy through the medium of music and music-initiated conversations to actively assist in the healing process. In short our goal is to improve patient quality of life using music.
How MusicMDs Began
The idea of music and wellness synergy came in the fall of 2009, as Bansal siblings (Varun & Esha) discussed ideas for a community project. The siblings recalled that their grandmother, who died at a local hospital after battling cancer for many years, loved to hear them play music for her; in fact, she said that she preferred live music over the therapy dog!
As curious young musicians, the Bansal siblings researched the connection between music and health, finding the basis of this program in Music Therapy. Their findings showed that there is a significant positive impact of music on illness recovery, and they were hooked! Realizing that music-based healthcare volunteering was lacking in their community, they created a volunteer organization, MusicMDs, to provide this service in Brevard County, Florida and beyond.
Their goal was to evolve MusicMDs to become a widespread community-based effort involving many healthcare facilities, student music organizations, high school and university orchestra & band programs, and aspiring young musicians across the USA.
As curious young musicians, the Bansal siblings researched the connection between music and health, finding the basis of this program in Music Therapy. Their findings showed that there is a significant positive impact of music on illness recovery, and they were hooked! Realizing that music-based healthcare volunteering was lacking in their community, they created a volunteer organization, MusicMDs, to provide this service in Brevard County, Florida and beyond.
Their goal was to evolve MusicMDs to become a widespread community-based effort involving many healthcare facilities, student music organizations, high school and university orchestra & band programs, and aspiring young musicians across the USA.
Virtual MusicMDs
Since its origin in 2009 MusicMD volunteers performed one-on-one live music for patients in hospitals. In early 2020, the start of the COVID pandemic brought MusicMDs unique music-therapy inspired inter-disciplinary patient care model to a screeching halt!
With innovative thinking & hard work of many leaders (adult & youth) a new MusicMDs platform “Virtual MusicMDs” was created to continue serenading sick and isolated hospitalized patients from a distance.
Following a newly designed protocol our youth musicians were trained to self-record music for the benefit of their hospitalized patients from home. Hospitals employed this collection of recorded music albums of MusicMD musicians to promote patient wellness by streaming it to patients through use of smart electronic devices or other methods. Through this virtual platform, MusicMDs youth musicians continued to deliver the myriad benefits of music in patient recovery during the pandemic and to date.
Virtual MusicMDs Development credits (years 2020 -2022)
With innovative thinking & hard work of many leaders (adult & youth) a new MusicMDs platform “Virtual MusicMDs” was created to continue serenading sick and isolated hospitalized patients from a distance.
Following a newly designed protocol our youth musicians were trained to self-record music for the benefit of their hospitalized patients from home. Hospitals employed this collection of recorded music albums of MusicMD musicians to promote patient wellness by streaming it to patients through use of smart electronic devices or other methods. Through this virtual platform, MusicMDs youth musicians continued to deliver the myriad benefits of music in patient recovery during the pandemic and to date.
Virtual MusicMDs Development credits (years 2020 -2022)
- Luke Wu – Video processing, editing & upload
- Truly Thomas – Video collection, support, training
- Asmita Kulkarni – Virtual meeting coordinator
- Mrs. Jennifer Thomas – Lead Adult Advisor / Facilitator