Wednesday, Aug. 06, 2008

Children’s Hospital Program: Songs in the key of recovery

Palmetto Health series kicks off as kids eagerly listen to music — and join in

The music of healing filled the atrium of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital on Tuesday morning.

With their wheelchairs in tow and their cares left behind, many of the hospital’s young patients embraced the joy of song as part of a new hospital outreach. Some might even say they were rockin’.

“What kid doesn’t like music?” said Diane Bagnal-Moody, manager of special programs for Children’s Hospital. “This is just another opportunity to give them an experience with music.”

Bagnal-Moody was referring to “Rockin’ Out for the Kids,” a yearlong program that will provide child-appropriate music from various local musicians on site each month. Many of the musicians scheduled to appear in the coming months are featured on the commemorative CD “A Place for Us,” which was created for the Children’s Hospital opening earlier this summer.

“We’re so excited about this,” Bagnal-Moody said.

The young participants echoed her enthusiasm as they sang along with local musician Brent McDonald, who performed the lead track on the CD.

While singing some of his own songs, McDonald also led the group in some well-known favorites, including “Old MacDonald,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” And as he did, many added their own background music with drums and shakers that had been passed out to the group.

“I got to play all the instruments ... “ said 13-year-old Courtney Durant of Sumter, who was receiving outpatient treatment.

Courtney’s mother, Sharolyn Hill, said the mini-concert offered a welcome break from the ongoing treatments and said music was the perfect draw for her daughter.

“It’s great,” Hill said. “She loves music.”

The monthly concerts are intended not only to provide an escape from medical treatments, but also to provide healing.

Children’s Hospital music therapist Becca Rietz said music is proven to shorten hospital stays and also can help reduce pain.

“This just enhances our program as these artists share their gifts and the power of music,” she said.

McDonald had a special reminder of that gift as he sang to the youngsters Tuesday. Seated in the group was his 20-month-old son, Carter. And although the youngster has enjoyed good health since birth, McDonald said he knows that’s not true of all children.

“I’m very lucky that I have been asked to be a part of this, that I can keep myself grounded,” McDonald said. “I think sometimes people can just lose their perspective.”

Rockin’ Out For The Kids was created through a partnership between the Christopher Conner Foundation and the Musicians and Songwriters Guild of South Carolina.

Based in West Columbia, The Christopher Conner Foundation supports local musicians and their families with medical and educational funding assistance. It is named for the late Christopher Conner, an area musician who died of lung cancer last year — and whose son Ace, 2, joined in the music Tuesday.

Ashleigh Pair, executive director of The Christopher Conner Foundation, said the responses from the children Tuesday reinforced the importance of the foundation’s mission.

“It’s such a great thing to see the smiles on these kids’ faces and to know that the Conner Foundation is helping to bring those smiles,” she said.

Visit www.connerfoundation.org for more information.