Beyond the Bedside: What Virtual Music Teaches Us About Arts in Health
This article is part of our 30 on 30 series, commemorating 30 years of Children’s Cancer Association in 2025. This month, we welcome a guest blog from JoyRx Music Senior Manager Elke Downer as she highlights the importance of JoyRx Music Digital Live. A young patient sits in their hospital room with a ukulele balanced carefully on their lap while a child life specialist holds up an iPad, revealing a music specialist providing an instrument lesson over Zoom in real-time. The hum of machines fades for a moment as chords from the child’s favorite song fill the space. The two smile and strum together, and music and laughter fill the air.
Down the hall, another child turns on the TV in their hospital room and finds a live concert broadcasting. They recognize the host — the events and activity coordinator at their hospital — and the musician joining is interacting directly with them and taking requests from patient rooms. The child calls in to ask for their favorite feel-good song!
In these instances, the hospital room begins to feel less sterile and more human. Music bridges distance, eases stress, and restores a sense of normalcy. This is particularly important for kids who spend hours, days, or even weeks in the hospital.
Scenes like this happen every day in healthcare settings across the country. As we celebrate Arts in Health Month this November, we’re reminded of the power of the arts to provide comfort and connection, whether at the bedside in person or even through a screen.
Behind the scenes of a CCTV concert as it’s being broadcast throughout hospital rooms.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare in ways we’re still grappling with. Restrictions on visitors, social distancing, and heightened anxieties left many patients, especially children, feeling more isolated than ever. At the same time, healthcare professionals were faced with unprecedented stress and burnout.
Arts in health programs stepped in to fill gaps. Music, visual arts, theater, and other creative modalities became lifelines for patients and staff alike. While delivery methods shifted from bedside interactions to livestreams and Zoom calls, the outcomes remained consistent: reduced anxiety, improved mood, greater connection, and moments of joy in otherwise difficult times.
A patient enjoys a one-on-one session with a JoyRx Music Specialist.
Today, as healthcare continues to navigate post-pandemic realities, the arts are not just a luxury. They are a vital component of whole-person care.
Decades of research confirm what many practitioners experience during service: music and the arts can transform the healthcare experience. Studies have shown that music interactions decrease stress and perception of pain, improve mood, and create a safe space for bonding between children and their families. For pediatric patients, especially, music provides a sense of normalization in an environment that can otherwise feel overwhelming and frightening.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers captured something new: the impact of virtual arts in health programming. Early evaluations, such as research published in Frontiers in Psychology, suggest that even when delivered through technology, music and the arts provide meaningful benefits. Children have reported feeling comfort, connection, and distraction, while families appreciated the opportunities to participate together and share joy in the midst of medical stress.
Virtual delivery of arts in health programming has also opened many unexpected doors. In this post-pandemic world, kids in outpatient treatment can now join music sessions from home. Interpreters can easily participate, bridging language gaps. Families with mobility challenges or long travel distances find access easier than ever. And for those under hospital isolation protocols, participating in arts activities becomes possible without having to leave the hospital bed. In many cases, technology has removed barriers that previously prevented people from participating.
Of course, challenges remain, such as technical hiccups, screen fatigue, and unequal access to devices or reliable internet. Yet, the overall evidence is clear: whether in-person or virtual, arts in health interventions create positive outcomes that matter deeply to patients and their families.
Numbers and data are powerful, but the true impact of arts in health is best understood through the lived experiences of patients and families.
A patient plays SINGO while watching a CCTV broadcast of the Digital Live livestream.
One child who joined a JoyRx Music virtual concert – SINGO (a musical version of BINGO) lit up each time they recognized a song, proudly marking off squares on their card. For them, the hospital room wasn’t just an isolated place of treatment — it became a place of play, fun, and agency.
A parent shared that participating in a virtual music session from home, alongside their child, made them feel more connected through a powerful bonding experience. What might have been a lonely experience became one of shared joy.
These stories mirror what research tells us: that arts in health not only reduce anxiety and provide distraction, but also nurture autonomy, strengthen relationships, and provide a sense of normalization.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons from recent years is that access to arts in health is not equal for everyone. Virtual programming expanded reach for some, such as patients in isolation, families living far from hospitals, and children with mobility issues. For them, technology was a gateway to connection.
But inequities persist. Families without reliable devices or private space to join sessions, as well as hospitals without stable internet or sufficient resources to invest in new technology, may be left behind. These barriers remind us that while the arts can open doors, systemic inequities in healthcare and access to technology must be addressed to ensure those doors stay open for all.
As we reflect during Arts in Health Month, one truth is clear: arts in health programs are not simply “nice to have.” They are essential to creating healthcare environments that support the whole person.
Whether through a musician playing at the bedside, a child dancing in a hospital playroom, or a family singing together over Zoom, these moments of creativity and connection transform the experience of care.
The pandemic showed us that while the mode of delivery may change, the value of arts in health does not. The arts will always have a role to play in helping patients feel less alone, families feel more connected, and healthcare feel more human.
As the JoyRx Music Senior Manager at Children’s Cancer Association, Elke oversees a national team of music specialists and manages a portfolio of more than 30 pediatric hospitals and healthcare sites to bring the healing power of music to kids across the country. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, she holds an MA in Arts in Medicine from the University of Florida, a BS in Human Development from Warner Pacific University, and certifications from Musician’s Institute.Elke is an active member of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH), where she co-chairs the Professionalization Committee and Credentialing Working Group that recently published a paper on “Advancing Practice in Arts in Health,” and previously served on the Ethics Committee that published the 2023 NOAH Code of Ethics for Arts in Health Professionals. She as presented at the International Association of Music & Medicine (IAMM) conferences in 2022 and 2024, the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers Conference in 2024, the NOAH Conferences in 2023 and 2025, OHSU Pediatric Grand Rounds in 2025, and the UF Center for Arts in Medicine “Arts in Health Webinar Series” in 2025.