The Eileen W. CB Pennington Family Foundation will donate $130,000 to the Baton Rouge General Foundation’s Medical Arts Program, BRG announced today.
The announcement is as follows news The Pennington family announced that it no longer plans to support BRG’s Pennington Cancer Center following the General’s partnership with Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center.
The medical arts program uses evidence-based art and music activities to “treat, heal and inspire patients,” BRG said, adding that the music and art therapy program: is shown It reduces patients’ anxiety and depression and promotes good health.
“Baton Rouge General’s Medical Arts Program leaves no stone unturned when it comes to caring for the whole patient,” Paula Pennington de la Bretonne said in a prepared statement. “The Pennington Family Foundation is honored to support programs that continue to impact the lives of families who seek hope and healing through the arts.”
Since its inception in 2012, the program has supported more than 115,000 patients, families and hospital staff. For example, in the neonatal intensive care unit, music therapists use breathing, voice and special equipment to recreate sounds from the womb to comfort and stimulate babies as they grow, BRG said.
In an October letter to the BRG board, Pennington de la Bretonne cited the partnership with Mary Bird, saying: announced in January 2022 as part of the reasons for withdrawing support for cancer programs. She wrote that she felt misunderstood about the nature of the 10-year agreement between the two organizations, which led to “dismantling the program” and disrupting patient care.you can read more about that daily report.
