Virtual Music Therapy Soothes Kids Florida Children's Hospital

Virtual Music Therapy from Miles Away Soothes Sick Kids at Florida Children's Hospital

ORLANDO, Fla., June 1, 2007 - Lorraine Zima- Lennon, Florida Hospital Artist in Residence Manager, pushes the language workstation, a large computer on wheels, room to room while Gary Gillespie, "virtual" volunteer at the Florida Children's Hospital at Florida Hospital, plays piano in Houston, Texas, for the little patients at Florida Children's Hospital.  This new technology delivers live therapeutic music and can be easily moved from patient room to patient room - so Gary's piano concert in Houston, Texas, can be heard here in the pediatric patients' rooms at the Florida Children's Hospital in Orlando, Florida.

Music Therapy has been proven to use musical interventions to restore, maintain, and improve the physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and social needs of children of all ages.  Music therapy interventions can also be designed to promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation.

Florida Children's Hospital is a 138 specialty bed "hospital within a hospital" that allows Florida Hospital to deliver a complete range of dedicated and specialized pediatric health services to younger patients, who benefit from the expertise of specialized departments throughout the hospital.   Florida Children's Hospital is served by Kids Docs - the largest panel of Pediatric specialists in Orlando.  More than 50,000 children are seen annually, and one of every two Central Florida residents chooses Florida Hospital as their health care provider.

For more information, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407-303-8217.

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