A History of the Healing Arts at St. Charles Bend

The 20-year-old 'Arts in the Hospital' program at St. Charles has established a national reputation for the healing environment of the hospital, in which art plays an integral role.

The hospital arts program was founded on the following belief: 

• Life altering illness affects one physically, emotionally and psychologically. Participation in the arts allows individuals to draw upon their creative impulses to come to terms and live with these challenges.
• The program encompasses presentations by professional and amateur artists ranging from performing arts (music, dance, poetry, drama) to film showings and rotating art exhibits. Additionally the hospital has a permanent art collection which is displayed throughout its facilities.
• There are several galleries on the Bend campus, including the Alexander Gallery, which is a rotating gallery of artwork done by artists either with cancer or who have a disability. This gallery was made possible by Eric and Marlene Alexander of Bend, Oregon, and is located in the Cancer Treatment Center. The Second Floor Gallery has rotating artwork by primarily local artists and changes approximately every two months. St. Charles Redmond also hosts a rotating gallery of artwork.
• Recent honors for the Arts in the Hospital program include first place in the 2006 Blair L. Sadler International Healing Arts Competition for the community outreach project 'Expanding the Vision Through Photography'. The Arts in the Hospital program was also recently awarded a grant from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation in support of an innovative and action-oriented 'Art + Walk' program featuring a walking tour of a portion of the permanent art collection of the hospital.
  

For further information contact Marlene Alexander, Arts in the Hospital Coordinator at 541-322-4781.