![]() Sophie beams with happiness and pride-so do her parents. “But, because of COVID-19, we can’t do that.” Instead, Sophie’s care team visits her room before she gets discharged. “When someone reaches a milestone like this, we usually meet them in the hospital lobby where they ring a bell and staff sings them a song about completing treatment,” Obi says. Obi first sees Sophie*, a 13-year old girl who is finishing up bone cancer treatment–her last chemotherapy session. She checks in with Kong and the two music therapy interns, then reviews patient charts and sees that, so far, the hospital team-doctors, nurses, and child life specialists–have asked for music therapy services for six new patients in addition to the 50 patients already on their combined caseload. ![]() Obi arrives at her Golisano Children’s Hospital office. Here’s a snapshot of just one of their days. Current funding supports a 40-hour week for Obi and a 25-hour week for Kong. ![]() “Donor generosity is critical-we are hoping that more people come on board to support it.”įor Obi and Kong, each day is different and includes working with patients, supervising student interns, attending interdisciplinary team rounds, writing notes, and more. “Bringing comfort to children and families through song and music-making is vital to the health and well-being of our young patients,” says Obi. Although insurance doesn’t cover the cost of music therapy in the hospital, the Department of Pediatrics is committed to providing it to families at no cost. The program relies and thrives on donor support. Together, they provide music therapy for pediatric patients with cancer, blood disorders, heart disease, eating disorders, prematurity, and more. It was her first job after graduating from the University of Dayton’s music therapy program.Įlaine Kong joined Obi five years ago and focuses on bringing music therapy to the intensive care units for neonatal and pediatric patients, while Obi takes care of patients on the general care units. Rosemary “Rosie” Obi, music therapist and internship director for Golisano’s music therapy program, joined the hospital 20 years ago.
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