Brookings Health System Supports Brookings High School Artists by Showcasing Work
- January 12, 2012
Brookings Health System and the Brookings High School art department have joined forces to start the new Art Rx program in which high school student art will be showcased at Brookings Health System.
The program is the vision of Brookings Health System's Michelle Tvedt, medical health information coding specialist.
"I saw a news story on television discussing the healing properties of visual art, and I started to think about our own hospital and how nice it would be to showcase local art," said Tvedt. "The art that came to my mind was the art from the Brookings High School Koffee Klatch which is held annually in the spring. The Koffee Klatch is where all of art created by the high school art students during the school year is featured. After attending my first Koffee Klatch, I recalled being very impressed at the level of talent and obviously amazing instruction it must take to produce such beautiful pieces of art."
Tvedt reached out to Art Instructor John Livingston to see if he and his fellow teacher, Shaun Haaseth, would be interested in showcasing student artwork at the health system. Livingston and Haaseth said yes, and Tvedt then approached senior management at Brookings Health System to launch the program.
“One requirement is that the artwork fit properly into the case,” said Livingston. “Another is that the subject matter be appropriate for display in a hospital environment.”
The featured art will change on a periodic basis. Newly featured art will also be recognized on Brookings Health System’s Facebook page.
“The art pieces will be selected by the art department and agreed upon by the Brookings Health System,” said Livingston. “The artwork will be produced from Brookings High School students, and we hope to involve as many students as possible.”
The display case for the Art Rx work is located in the south hall immediately adjacent to the hospital waiting room. The inaugural pieces were created by Ellie Nemitz, Amber Whitehead, Linjie Jiang, Peter Norby, and Lauren Debates.
About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed Brookview Manor nursing home, and Brookhaven Estates apartments. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock medical-nursing care for patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises.
For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.