"Operation PaintFest" Brings Comfort and Hope to Hospitalized Children

The imaginations of hospitalized kids at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children soared on Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 17 during "Operation PaintFest": Creating Brighter Children’s Hospitals. Walls and ceilings were brightly enhanced with the artistic signature of youngsters who helped paint approximately four canvases and 600 ceiling tiles – rich with a butterfly, tropical fish and exotic animal palette of colors. Sponsored by The Foundation for Hospital Art in partnership with Pfizer Pediatric Health, this national program is being offered to children’s hospitals throughout the country.

“From the perspective of a child, hospitals can feel like infinite corridors and rooms of sterility – an uninviting whitewash of mazes,” explained John Feight, Executive Director, The Foundation for Hospital Art. “However, rooms that invite kids to feel like they just opened a brand new jar of paint transport them from the frightening reality of illness to the welcome respite of fantasy.”

The Healing Power of Art

Evidence to support the positive correlation between the process of healing and the power of art is mounting. In fact, as recently as May 1999, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published “The Arts of Healing” (vol. 281, no.19, pp.1779-1781). This essay showed that psychologically appropriate art can substantially affect such patient outcomes as high blood pressure, anxiety, intake of pain medication, and length of hospital stay.

In particular, representational nature art was shown to have a beneficial effect on patients experiencing stress and anxiety. The goal of "Operation PaintFest" is to provide similar therapeutic benefits for children’s hospitals throughout the country.

“At St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, we applaud the value of art in the hospital setting and strive to create an atmosphere that complements the physical and emotional care we provide to the children we serve,” said Jeffrey E. Green, Chief Executive Officer of St. Christopher’s. “‘Operation PaintFest’ gave us the opportunity to allow our patients to play a vital role in creating an inspirational new backdrop that will bring comfort to them and, equally as important, to the children who will enter these doors in the months and years to come.”

"Operation PaintFest": How It Works

Working side-by-side with their families, hospital staff and volunteers, patients at St. Christopher’s brought nature to life by using the pre-drawn and color-coded ceiling tiles and canvas outlines created by The Foundation for Hospital Art. The burst of color painted from the rainbow of butterflies, unexpected texture of tropical fish and discovery of animals happily gazing from the haven of forests, are permanently displayed in patient treatment rooms throughout the hospital.

“As a pediatrician, I certainly understand the trepidation children experience in the hospital setting and wholeheartedly believe art is a comforting refuge for kids who find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings,” said Randall Kaye, MD, Pfizer Pediatric Health. “Pfizer is proud to partner with The Foundation for Hospital Art and honored to have so many of the company’s employees embrace the real meaning of volunteerism by trading their business attire for art smocks in communities across the country – side-by-side with the young patients to whom we are dedicated.”