Home News Local News Volunteer musicians to give bedside performances for end-of-life patients at Peconic Landing

Volunteer musicians to give bedside performances for end-of-life patients at Peconic Landing

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Sometimes, music is a medicine all on its own.

Starting this month, musicians from East End Arts will be giving one-on-one bedside performances to patients at Peconic Landing’s skilled nursing facility in Greenport.

The program, “East End Arts Music by the Bedside,” will bring local volunteer musicians and East End Arts students and faculty members to senior patients who are receiving palliative care at Peconic Landing.

Palliative care is provided to patients suffering from serious illnesses, with a focus on relief from pain and the mental strain that often accompanies such diagnoses.

“We see the therapeutic benefits of music firsthand, and the connection our seniors have with it,” said Gregory Garrett, Peconic Landing vice president. “This is the start of a very meaningful program.”

Volunteer musicians participating in the program will be specially trained to provide supportive end-of-life palliative treatment to the patients. On the last Friday of every month, the musicians will perform for patients at their bedsides.

“Whether a peaceful song, a quiet flute solo, or the sound of a violin, it can help seniors to connect with the soul, awaken memories and enhance their quality of life,” East End Arts wrote in a press release about the program.

The bedside performance program will begin October 30, featuring Sheree Elder, an East End Arts School alumnus who is now a composer, songwriter and vocalist.

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Katie Blasl
Katie, winner of the 2016 James Murphy Cub Reporter of the Year award from the L.I. Press Club, is a reporter, editor and web developer for the LOCAL news websites. A Riverhead native, she is a 2014 graduate of Stony Brook University. Email Katie