Bedside Harp® Answers Your Questions
 On Our Programs and Requirements
Program Notes 2–3
Encore!
Administrators’ Corner
Ad Libitum
4
5
6
W e get questions
throughout the
year about our pro-
classes. We use the
Edie Elkan method
which gets you up
2009
Number of patients
in our host hospitals
AUG YTD

who received live

Bedside Harp® Community Sounds 7 grams, methods and and running faster harp therapy ses-
692 5,917
Upcoming Events 7 requirements. Here are than you would sions lasting five or
more minutes
the answers to the ques- ever imagine. Number of hours of
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT tions that seem to come live harp therapy
Edie Elkan, Founding Director delivered to pa-
up most often. Do I have to read tients, their loved
Diana V. Nolan, Editor 122.5 1,342
music? ones, staff and
doctors at our host
Neshaminy Medical Professional Center Am I too old to learn Reading music is a hospitals
4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4 how to play the harp? good skill to ac-
Bensalem, PA 19020 No. quire, but it’s not es-
(PA) 215-752-7599; (NJ) 609-273-0068 sential from our point programs accredited?
Facsimile: 215-752-0529 Can you elaborate? of view. Listening to To claim accreditation,
Sure. Studies have what you’re playing an institution of learn-
shown that taking up an and listening to other ing must be recognized
Report

instrument as an adult, music is far more im- as maintaining those

especially the harp, of- portant. Also impor- standards requisite for
fers many benefits in- tant is your grasp of its graduates to achieve
cluding mental stimula- how music works— credentials for profes-
tion and a great sense and that’s as easy as sional practice. The
of empowerment. At being able to count to field of harp therapy is
Bedside Harp®, we wel- seven. presently unregulated
come everyone—our throughout the United
most mature starter be- What do I have to be States; however, since
gan right after her 80th able to do before ap- its inception, Bedside
birthday. She’s nearing Harp has been recog-
®

plying to the harp

90 now and wouldn’t therapy certification nized by the hospitals
think of not playing program? hosting our programs
every day. You need to be able to who attest to our com-
play 10 tunes— prehensive didactic
How long will it take simply—on the harp. and clinical training by
me to learn how to Simply means the adding their names and
play? melody with either no insignias to our certifi-
The rest of your life. or little accompani- cations. The quality of
ment. We need to the music training in
Maybe I should re- know that you’re able our program was offi-
phrase the question. to get around on the cially recognized in
How hard is it to learn instrument before be- 2005 when Bucks
to play? ginning this intensive County Community
Well, at Bedside Harp, course of study. You College began granting
you’ll be able to make a will not believe how 10 college music cred-
beautiful sound from your playing will de- its to our master harp
the first lesson onward. velop as you go therapist graduates.
Sure, you’re going to through this program.
want to learn more What hospitals cur-
THE

tricks, put more notes There’s been a lot of rently host Bedside
in, kick your sound up a discussion about ac- Harp programs?
notch or two, and you’ll creditation in the There are five. We
be able to do that dur- field of harp therapy. have been at Robert
ing the course of your Are Bedside Harp Continued on page 2

Page 1
cÜÉzÜtÅ aÉàxá
Continued from page 1
Wood Johnson University Hospital
Hamilton, NJ, since 2002; Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital
at Rahway, NJ, since 2003; The Val-
ley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ, since
2004; Abington Memorial Hospital,
Abington, PA; since 2006; and Saint
Clare’s Hospital, Denville, NJ, since
February 2009.
What does it mean when a hospital
hosts a Bedside Harp program?
When a hospital contracts with us,
we take up residence there: our pro-
fessionals and interns play for their
patients, staff and visitors; we hold
instructional harp classes right in the
facility, offering patients, staff and
the community the opportunity to
learn to play the harp for their own
healing; and we collaborate with the
hospital on research and other spe-
cial projects.
Is Bedside Harp a “local” pro-
gram?
First we need to ask back, what do
you mean by local? While all of our
certification classroom modules are
offered through Bucks County Com-
munity College in Pennsylvania, you
decide where you want to work your
internship. Choose any setting near
your home—a hospital, nursing
home, hospice, or rehab—and con-
nect with us for a contact hour for
every 10–12 hours you work. But
consider this: should you work even
as few as two weeks of your intern-
ship at one of our five host hospitals,
you stand to gain even more: 1) you
will be able to shadow, be shadowed,
and receive valuable in-person,
hands-on feedback, mentoring and
coaching from Edie and our other
highly experienced mastery harp
therapist professionals; 2) you will
work at a facility familiar with and
open to harp therapy; 3) you will
have access to every patient area,
including ICU, ER, PACU and
NICU; 4) you will be able to connect
Page 2
in person with our professionals and
other interns; 5) you may even have
an opportunity to actively partici-
pate in one of our ongoing research
projects; and 6) your certificate will
bear the names, logos and signatures
of both Bedside Harp and that host
hospital.
What is the Bucks County Com-
munity College connection?
We have been teaching our in-
structional program at Bucks
County Community College in
Newtown, PA since Spring 2003
and our certification program since
Fall 2003. Since 2005, mastery-
level graduates have been eligible
to receive 10 college music credits
for our program. CEUs in every
field are available through the Col-
lege, and everyone receives an of-
ficial certificate of completion
from the College for each class-
room module completed.
Why are Bedside Harp intern-
ships 120 hours long?
The short answer is that we believe
that only after playing that number
of hours at the bedside can one le-
gitimately call oneself trained. But it
takes more than playing to develop
your skills—you need close mentor-
ship throughout your practicum, you
need to shadow experienced harp
therapists, you need to pick their
brains, ask them questions, debrief
with them. At Bedside Harp you
will receive one contact hour with a
highly experienced mastery level
professional for each 10–12 hours
you play, wherever you play them.
By the time you graduate, you feel
and we know that you are exceed-
ingly well prepared to step out into
the world and begin to make a dif-
ference on your own.
Does Bedside Harp hire its gradu-
ates?
Our “Be Part of the Dream” pro-
gram invites our mastery-level
graduates to partner with us in a
number of ways, including playing
professional harp therapy hours at
our host hospitals, mentoring in-
terns, and teaching staff and the
community how to play the harp for
their own healing. Our graduates are
mostly entrepreneurs, so they may
work for us in our host hospitals and
with our students and also work in-
dependently at other hospitals, hos-
pices, cancer centers, nursing homes,
rehabs, addiction recovery centers,
and doctors’ and dentists’ offices.
Nevertheless, it is not a given that
everyone who graduates from our
programs will work for us: we pres-
ently employ nine professional harp
therapists.
What is your rate of pay for these
positions?
At Bedside Harp, we want everyone
to succeed and thrive. Our profes-
sional harp therapists are paid
$50.00 an hour to play hospital
rounds; our mentors receive $35.00
for each contact hour they give to an
intern and our teachers receive 40–
50 percent of tuition, depending
upon whether they are teaching an
instructional class or conducting a
harp circle. Additionally, if a student
facilitates a contract between us and
a hospital, that student will receive
10 percent of the contract amount for
three years. It is not unusual that one
of our professionals will wear all
three hats: s/he will work as a harp
therapist, a mentor and even a
teacher.
Why do you have a mastery level
of harp therapy certification?
We realized since our inception that
it just isn’t possible, at the first level
of certification, for a student to learn
as much as s/he needs to in order to
be experienced enough to consider
him/herself to be a professional harp
therapist. What we found students
need beyond the first level of certifi-
cation is more experience playing
hours at the bedside, a good grasp of
the ethical issues of the profession, a
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
 deeper understanding and apprecia-
tion of research methods and proto-
cols and an understanding of how
harp therapy fits into the larger field
of mind–body medicine.
What is the curriculum for the
mastery level?
There are two online courses—very
user-friendly because we present
them in a private chat room. They
are both offered once a year and
are each 12 weeks in duration.
“Conversations for Harp Thera-
pists on Ethics” is offered in Janu-
ary and “Conversations for Harp
Therapists on Research” is offered
in March, about a week after the
first course ends. Part of the course
on research is certification through
the National Institute of Health.
The two-day workshop on Harp
Therapy as a Mind–Body Modality
was inspired by and is based
largely upon Harvard Medical
School’s Intensive Mind–Body
Medicine course.
Are there additional require-
ments?
Yes. There is an additional 120-hour
closely mentored internship, a prac-
ticum project that must include a
music development component,
readings, writings and an oral pres-
entation of the practicum project.
I have been certified by another
program. What additional train-
ing could I take through Bedside
Harp?
You would need to be evaluated
individually to see what we might
offer you. Some people who have
come from other programs have
elected to go through our entire
harp therapy certification program;
others have elected to take private
lessons or have attended our spe-
cial workshops.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3
Nina Rubin to Publish Poetry Book: Harpestry
A new collection of poetry by Nina
Rubin will be published soon. A
number of Nina’s poems have ap-
peared in earlier editions of The
Bedside Harp® Report. Nina is a
2004 graduate of the Bedside Harp
program and is a hospital certified
master of harp therapy (HCMHT).
In addition, Nina has a Masters de-
gree in nutrition from New York
University. She has been employed
as a harp therapist at The Valley
Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ since
September 2004. In addition to her
poems, Nina has just finished re-
cording harp music to accompany
CDs of guided meditations (written
by Mary Mazzer, RN, Holistic Prac-
titioner) for patients at The Valley
Hospital.
According to Edie Elkan,
“Nina’s poetry places you at the
bedside.” She adds that the collec-
2009 Graduation
Ceremony
Bedside Harp®’s 7th Annual Gradua-
tion Celebration was held this year on
Sunday, August 16 at the Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital
Hamilton Center for Health and Well-
ness in Mercerville, NJ. The
Celebration was sensational, and the
world now has eight well-trained,
newly certified harp therapists.
This year’s graduates included
Certified Harp Therapists: Jan Lucas,
Jane Oskutis (see page 4), Kathy Platt,
Pat Stebbins and Jim Sutherland. At
the Mastery Level, our new Certified
Master Harp Therapists are Pat Craig,
Diane Penchansky, and Janet
Zimmerly. This year, Diane Grillo
Senior Vice President of RWJUH
Hamilton was honored with our
Bedside Harp Living Legend award
for her mentoring and championing
of Bedside Harp’s programs.
Watch for more information and
pictures from our Celebration in the
November issue of The Bedside
Harp Report.
tion is “a definite ‘must-read’
for professionals yearning to re-
connect with the soul of health-
care.”
The book will be available in
the near future. The cost will be
$12.50, and it will be sold at
Bedside Harp. Watch for more
information in upcoming issues
of The Bedside Harp® Report.
New Titles for
Leslie Stickley and
Shannon Barletti
As was previously announced, the
business entity of Bedside Harp,
LLC is now a newly formed corpo-
ration. As of June 24, we are Bed-
side Harp, Inc., reflecting, as Edie
explained at this year’s graduation,
that “we are a company that beats
not with just one heart, but with
many hearts—as we promote the
therapeutic use of the harp in health-
care, play at the bedside, create mo-
ments of comfort, soothing and joy
that we fervently hope will strike
notable differences forevermore.”
With the new company structure
comes new titles: Edie Elkan is now
Founder-President, Leslie Stickley is
Associate Director & Vice Presi-
dent,and Shannon Barletti is Assis-
tant Vice President, Student Affairs
and Operations. Pledging to serve
our host hospitals, our students and
our graduates with the highest stan-
dards of excellence, we look for-
ward to this new leg of our journey.
Page 3
XÇvÉÜx4 Jane Oskutis
T his year’s Bedside Harp®
graduates include Jane Oskutis
who received her Hospital-Certified
Harp Therapist credentials at our
Graduation Celebration this month.
Jane began in our certification pro-
gram in September 2008 and com-
pleted her internship at Abington
Memorial Hospital in Abington, PA.
She finished all of our program re-
quirements in just under one year.
Jane learned about Bedside
Harp at a time when she was ready
to move in a new direction. Her
brother came across an announce-
ment in a local paper about Bedside
Harp classes and suggested she look
into it. Jane’s musical background
prior to Bedside Harp consisted of
taking a few formal organ lessons as
a child. She quickly became dis-
couraged, though, since her older
brother had been taking music les-
sons for years and was so much
more advanced. Nevertheless, her
brother is one of her most enthusias-
tic encouragers as she pursues her
harp playing.
Jane always had a love for mu-
sic and after taking her daughter to
music lessons she began to realize
that her interests were growing
deeper and she thought she could
learn to play an instrument as well.
Jane’s interest in harp was initially
sparked by her attendance at a two-
hour workshop at a local coffee
shop on learning to play the harp.
After that workshop, she knew she
needed to find a teacher. Her
friend’s daughter had taken harp
lessons and recommended a teacher
near her home in Hershey, PA. She
began taking lessons with her
friend’s teacher, but couldn’t take
many lessons before the teacher be-
came ill and had to give up her stu-
dents. Jane played on her own, us-
ing the books they had started with.
She ordered a harp, but had no addi-
tional lessons until she finally sat
down with Edie just before begin-
Page 4
ning the certification program. Nev-
ertheless, between songs she had
learned with her other teacher, and
songs she picked out on her own,
Jane arrived at Bedside Harp with
the minimum number of tunes re-
quired for entry into our program.
Jane’s background is in art ther-
apy and psychology and she worked
in that field for some years before
sidestepping to work in business.
When she and her husband moved
out to Hershey she took a break to
raise her family. Jane was especially
interested in Bedside Harp because
of the way she could incorporate
some of her background and the
field she had been involved in. She
looks forward to the opportunity to
give healing to other people.
Given her background, Jane was
fairly comfortable working in the
healing environment. Her biggest
challenge was her musical ability.
The other students in her certifica-
tion class included professional mu-
sicians and music teachers and she
felt somewhat daunted at first. How-
ever, she received encouragement
from her brother as well as from
Edie who reminded her that it was
okay to “take it slow” and that “you
don’t need to play like that in this
kind of work.”
Jane never felt uncomfortable
entering patient rooms or being in a
healthcare setting, though. She knew
she wanted to be there. The more
exposure she had, the more rein-
forcement she received that she was
doing the right thing. Invariably,
someone told her, “You really sound
good.” Every day in the hospital,
Jane receives some validation for
her work and has some encounter
that stays with her. It may just be the
way someone is looking at her, clos-
ing their eyes, and wandering off in
thought, or mesmerized by the mu-
sic. It may be a vivid face followed
by a sigh, or the release of the shoul-
ders of a doctor in the elevator.
Some patients have cried and told
her that they really needed that—
they needed the music to release it;
that it touches their soul. One man
told her, “My wife hadn’t smiled in
two days until you played.”
Jane finds it somewhat humorous
that she has completed the (usually)
two-year certification program in only
one year. She was not driven to make
it happen, but found herself plugging
away at the requirements and the read-
ings and the internship hours. After
years of organizing the schedules of
busy children, she found herself dili-
gently reading and planning her own
schedule. And everything just fell into
place.
This graduation marks the first
level of certification from Bedside
Harp, but Jane has already begun
work on her mastery-level certifica-
tion. She has attended modules and
done most of the class work already,
including the online classes, and will
continue her internship hours at
Abington. Jane is pleased to have
this outlet and the extra incentive
that she is doing something bigger
and better with her life. She says she
is “so glad that Bedside Harp and
Edie were there at a time in my life
when it was important.” We are
pleased to welcome Jane as one of
our newest Bedside Harp graduates.
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
Administrators’ Corner: A Conversation with Linda Lewis
In 2003, Bedside Harp® intro-
duced its harp therapy program to
The Valley Hospital in Ridge-
wood, NJ. This came about as a
result of the efforts of Nina Rubin,
a nutritionist at the hospital. Nina
had just graduated from Bedside
Harp’s Certification Program and
discussed the possibility of
bringing Bedside Harp to Valley.
Her proposal was met with
enthusiasm by Linda Lewis, Vice
President for Patient Care Services
and Chief Nursing Officer at
Valley. Recently, Linda had an
opportunity to discuss with Edie
Elkan “the wonderful Bedside
Bedside Harp interns pause in the hallways at The Valley Hospital thing about the
in Ridgewood, NJ.
Harp program and all that it has
meant” to Valley Hospital.
Linda has been instrumental in
implementing an innovative
holistic nursing program at Valley
Hospital. She was approached by
Nina about including music among
the many other offerings, include-
ing aromatherapy, meditation and
massage. They presented the idea
and received an Innovative
Foundations Grant to start the
program and based on the
responses of patients and staff it
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3
has been resounding success.
Linda notes that the experience
of patients at the hospital is
measured by their level of
satisfaction with the services they
receive. Valley has long been at
the top of a national list based on
patient satisfaction, with a 97
percent satisfaction level. Many of
the positive comments they receive
are about the harp therapy
program. Patients have told Linda
about being anxious while waiting
for a test to come back from the
doctor. “And then an angel came
through playing music and it
helped me to relax,” Linda
paraphrases.
“Although the When discussions were under
test may not come way regarding the funding for the
out the way I Bedside Harp program, one of the
hoped, I felt a doctors wondered if it might not
little more easy; be alarming for the patients to
my anxiety hear harp music in their rooms,
decreased.” given the harp’s association with
During her angels and death. The then-
interview with President of the Medical Staff was
Edie, Linda quick to say, “No, it really makes
described the a difference.” He had seen and felt
“lovely tunes that the difference to patients and staff
float through the while working on the floors where
public walkways music was play. “Give them the
and patient money,” he urged.
rooms” at Valley. Bedside Harp has produced a
There is some- DVD of interviews of our host hos-
pital administrators talking about
music and its the differences our program and
resonance that work make in their facilities. For a
works well in the healing free copy of this DVD, please con-
environment of a hospital. tact shannon@bedsideharp.com.
SUBSCRIPTIONS & ADVERTISING
The Bedside Harp® Report is distributed to all Bedside Harp® students and
graduates and other interested parties by email (free) or hard copy
($12/year). This quarterly newsletter is full of the latest information about
Bedside Harp programs and new developments in our field. We accept clas-
sified and display advertising; please call for rates and details. We reserve
the right to reject or cancel any advertisement that we deem unacceptable.
To subscribe or to advertise, send your ad and mailing information to
diana@bedsideharp.com. Bedside Harp, Neshaminy Medical Professional
Center, 4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4, Bensalem, PA 19020.
Page 5
Tw _|u|àâÅ Bedside Harp® Moments
Bedside Harp® intern Betsy
MacKenzie-Stubbs has been play-
ing her therapy harp at a rehab
center where her father, an Alz-
heimers patient, is cared for. Re-
cently, the events of one week
clearly demonstrated the power of
her therapy harp and its effect on
her father as well as those around
him. Here’s Betsy’s story:
Sunday
I played mostly hymns along with
some other familiar tunes. My
dad’s roommate, who is 83 years
old with a broken hip, listened and
closed his eyes. When he opened
his eyes I saw tears streaming down
his face. He has been alone in his
room for about two months and
loves the music of the harp. I also
sing while I play and he enjoys that
also. He was trying to name the
tunes as I played them. He thanked
me so much at the end of the visit.
He looks forward to my visits and I
always play for him. He loves
“Danny Boy.” My father was
moved also. He would look up and
smile and when I sang, of course he
recognized my voice and loves to
hear me sing and play. He asked me
to play some more. He also started
to sing to “Home on the Range.” I
felt very good about this session. I
feel the music transports the pa-
tients to a better emotional and
mental place.
Tuesday
This was a really fun session. I be-
gan playing for my dad at a quiet
table along with my mom. As I
played, many other people came
out onto the porch. One little boy, a
quadriplegic, gave me the biggest
smile. I pulled out my harp, and I
looked at him, smiled and played.
His body began to shift around and
his smile was priceless. I played
“You Are My Sunshine” and
“Twinkle, Twinkle” especially for
him. My dad began singing “Home
Page 6
on the Range.” Another man went
crazy over my singing. He said I
should be on TV! He sang a bunch
of old tunes along with me and told
me how wonderful I was. After he
left, I continued to play for another
patient who was in the war, and he
recognized the songs I played and
sang along with me and told me
some stories about marching to some
of these tunes in boot camp. The ses-
sion was beautiful and I felt that I
really contributed to a peaceful and
happy mood for everyone.
Wednesday
I played outside on the porch for my
father and three other patients. It was
so uplifting to see the expression on
one patient’s face when I took out
the harp (he is the quadriplegic boy).
He grinned from ear to ear and wig-
gled in his seat. I played some chil-
dren’s songs for him which he
seemed to really enjoy. He even
made a vocal sound when he saw the
harp. I love to see this. My father
sang along to some of his old favor-
ites, and I could see that it made him
feel better. Yesterday there was a
man visiting with his wife. There is
never any conversation between
them, but he is faithful in visiting
her. The first day he was there, I felt
he did not pay any attention to the
music at all. Today, he smiled at me
and made a comment about my mu-
sic. He smiled and fell asleep as I
played. When I left, he gave me a
big grin. It was a great day.
Friday
I had an amazing experience. My
father unexpectedly left the rehab
because he would not wake up. He
entered the ER at a local hospital and
my mother and I were with him. He
still would not wake up. The doctors
determined he had considerable de-
hydration and a whopping UTI.
There was utter chaos in the ER. The
head nurse had a difficult situation
with another patient who was suffer-
ing from a drug overdose. Voices
were raised and she and the patient
were clearly upset. I remembered
that I had brought my harp and that
it might be a good time to play it. I
took the harp out and within several
minutes the chaos in the ER was
gone. The nurse, who had been very
stressed, came over to me and said
in the most surprised voice that she
thought that the music was being
piped in until she noticed it was
right next to her. She said it was so
soothing and it made her feel so
calm. I could see the results of my
playing for the next hour that fol-
lowed. She began to speak to the
patient with caring words and
voice, and when I heard her speak-
ing I noodled in a minor key and
was amazed how much compassion
came forth. My mother and sister,
who were with me, were astonished
at the results of the harp therapy.
When that nurse was ready to leave,
she came over to me again and said
that the music changed her day and
thanked me for it again. Once eve-
rything had calmed down, whenever
the patient began moaning I started to
play again, and each time after sev-
eral minutes, he calmed down and
stopped groaning. I noticed people
from other beds peeking out from
behind their curtains to see where the
music was coming from and who was
playing. A doctor walked by with a
medical student and the student
looked right at me and said, “That
was so beautiful. That sure made the
ER a nice place to be.”
Saturday
This evening, my dad was resting
comfortably in his hospital bed and
was doing better. My father now asks
me to sing and play for him. I have
noticed that he responds nicely to the
music alone, but when I add my
voice, he becomes more alert and
pays attention more. He also starts to
sing with me frequently. I love when
he does this, as years ago I used to
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
give him voice lessons and he just
loves to sing. When I packed up my
harp and told him we were ready to
leave, he said, “No, stay. Play some
more.” The fact that my dad said this
to me was amazing as he has Alz-
heimers and he doesn’t always
speak in a way that we can under-
stand. Of course, I took my harp back
out and played for another 30 minutes.
After that it was okay to leave.
My dad had a roommate who,
when I began playing, was very
surprised by the harp. He asked me
some questions and wanted his
wife who was on the phone with
him to hear the music, so I walked
over the played the song right next
to the telephone. He was talking to
her about how there was a harpist
in his room and how nice it was.
When I finished playing, he com-
mented how beautiful and soothing
the music was and how much it
relaxed him. He also told me he
was embarrassed to sing, but found
himself mouthing the words along
with us all singing. The staff mem-
bers who entered every so often all
commented how beautiful the mu-
sic was and how soothing.
Sunday
My dad was doing pretty well to-
night, but very tired. I played and he
fell asleep right away. I wanted to
play for him anyway because I
wanted those healing vibrations to
permeate the room. In my heart I
know it is healing for him. Several
staff people walked by the room, as
well as other visitors and family
who commented how soothing and
beautiful the music was. They stood
at the door and listened.
My dad’s roommate enjoyed
the music very much and was read-
ing again tonight as I played. He
asked me if my dad recognized the
songs I was playing and I told him
at the moment I was improvising,
but that I usually play songs he
knows. He thanked me at the end of
the session.

Uxwá|wx [tÜÑ VÉÅÅâÇ|àç fÉâÇwá To Soothe the Savage Chihuahua

I played for a small dog (who is not I placed her in her bed on a sofa

savage by any means) who had sus-
tained a soft tissue injury surround-
ing the cervical vertebrae. Because
of her small size, she couldn’t be
given muscle relaxants, only an oral
anti-inflammatory. The veterinarian
said it would take at least 24 hours
for the medication to really make a
noticeable difference. The dog
couldn’t move her head up and
down, so sleeping and eating were
going to be very difficult. Whenever
she tried to relax her head down, or
reach down for food or water, she
would cry. Her respirations were
shallow and rapid, and she was
trembling, with dilated pupils.
Image: www.sheryls-artdeco.co.uk
beside me and began to play my
Westover therapy harp. After about
10 minutes of playing, she climbed
out of the bed and lay down on the
couch next to the harp. Her head was
still tilted upward, but the trembling
was subsiding. About 20 minutes
into the music, she started to slowly
relax her head down until it was rest-
ing on her paws. She fell asleep, and
her respiration dropped to 12 breaths When the dog awoke, her pupils
per minute, which is in a normal were back to normal size, her respira-
range. She slept deeply enough to tions remained within normal range
dream, with rapid eye movement and and, although it was still painful for
twitching of paws and whiskers. I her to lower her head, she did make an
stopped playing after an hour, but attempt to take food from a bowl.
she slept for almost two hours. —Pat Stebbins, HCHT

hÑvÉÅ|Çz XäxÇàá
Three Fall Workshops with Edie (Bensalem & Valley dates and locations TBA).
Check www.bedsideharp.com for more information and details:
September 12 Beautiful Hands = Beautiful Sounds: A Workout for all Harpists, Bedside Harp Great Room, Bensalem, PA
(Date TBA) No More Same Ole: What to Do With The Left Hand
(Date TBA) Modes and Moods and Exotic Scales, Oh My!
September 15 Bedside Harp at Saint Clare’s at Denville, Informational Session, 5:30 PM.
September 22 Bedside Harp at Saint Clare’s at Dover, Informational Session, 5:30 PM.
September 26 Bedside Harp at Bucks County Community College, Informational Session, 10:00 AM.
October 7 Bedside Harp at The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, Informational Session, 5:30 PM.
October 24 Bedside Harp at Saint Clare’s at Parsippany, Community Outreach, 2:00–3:00 PM.

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3 Page 7


® tic use of the harp in healthcare. Committed to making a differ-
Neshaminy Medical Professional Center
4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4
Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone (PA): 215-752-7599;
(NJ) 609-273-0068
Email: bedsideharp@aol.com
Our Mission and Core Values
The mission of Bedside Harp, LLC is to promote the therapeu-
ence in that setting, we play for patients, the worried well and
staff; teach staff and members of the community how to play
the therapy harp; provide harp therapy training and certifica-
tion; and participate in research projects. We exist to bring re-
lief, comfort and hope to patients, their families and all who
care for them. To achieve our mission, we are committed to:
E Excellence
P Professionalism
I Integrity
C Collaboration

Check out our

website!
www.bedsideharp.com

Thank you, Nina Kohl!

Neshaminy Medical Professional Center

4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4
Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone (PA): 215-752-7599; (NJ) 609-273-0068
Email: bedsideharp@aol.com