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Madeline Yung, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology at University of California, San Francisco is spearheading a new art pilot project entitled – Vitalizing Vision with Art (VIVA). The mission of the project is to illuminate the human experience of vision disease. In an era of increasingly complex healthcare logistics, the hope is to unearth the beauty in the compassionate relationships that form between our patients and medical staff during vision care.
The program focuses on developing art stations in patient waiting areas in the Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision, where patients can create and submit art in various modalities, including drawn, written, and digital. This initiative will culminate in a VIVA Symposium open to medical staff and the public to feature submitted art, patient speakers, medical staff speakers, and a keynote speaker. Submitted art will be displayed for auction, with the proceeds supporting the All May See Foundation.
Dr. Yung noted, “we believe that this initiative will have a positive impact in numerous facets, with an aim to give patients a venue to freely express their experience of vision care.” Art has been found to contribute to health outcomes by improving patient satisfaction, creating an environment and space where patients feel more comfortable, socialize with each other, and maintain a connection with the world outside the medical office or hospital and thus support their sense of self (Nielsen et al., 2017).
The hope is the subsequent symposium will connect individuals from all aspects of the health system, sharing in a common thread of improving visual health for patients and reminding us of the humanity of medicine.