The Foothills Medical Centre Music therapy program - pilot donation support received from the National Music Centre April 2018-2020.  

Expansion to South Health Campus (SHC) and Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) renewal approved April 2020 - March 2022.

Winter Solace Virtual Live Stream Concert series collaboration between Instrumental Society of Calgary Outreach (ISC), AHS Patient and Family Centred Care and Asylum for Art Winter 2020-21.  For patients, families and healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic with funding support from Calgary Foundation.  The concerts include a wide variety of genres and cultures and were recorded and continue to be available to the public freely at their website. Winter Solace 2.0 occurred December 2021-January 2022 targeting the Alberta Children's Hospital audience and supported by MRU music student performers.

Change Can’t Wait” City of Calgary successful grant funding collaboration with Dr. Christine Gibson, Stacey Lockerbie, Tiffany Brulotte, Emma Harding of The Healing Centre Cooperative.  6 Month pilot funding for development of a virtual music-based mental health and well-being program for immigrants presenting with outreach into communities dealing with unmet mental health needs. Start date July 15, 2021, successful completion January 2022.  http://healingcentredcooperative.org

Humanizing Healthcare: Music and Sound for Mental Health and Wellness: investigating ways that music and sound can humanize individual and community mental health, through interdisciplinary humanistic research. Particular interest in how concepts and approaches related to the therapeutic application of music and sound, in multiple cultural settings, interact with those of Western medical models and tools of healthcare. Kule Institute, Calgary Institute of Humanities, Sound Studies Institute and Branch Out Foundation funding support awarded towards inter-university team building and knowledge translation event at Canadian Health Humanities Conference Creating Spaces 12, April 2022 in Calgary.

Music tHerApy pRograM in the zONe of CalgarY for Acute Care (Music HARMONY Care - Matching Calgary Health Foundation funding approved in addition to continued support from National Music Therapy supporters for another 2 years - July 2022-2024.  Total $500,000 - expanded acute care hospital music therapy programming to all 4 sites in Calgary (FMC, SHC, RGH, PLC)

Collaboration of South Health Campus team, HEAR members, and led by Kelly Morstad/YouQuest and Derek Manns of Stagehand to bring live music performance to the hospital.  YouQuest and Stagehand were successful in obtaining funding from the AB Minister of Culture for a 1 month pilot of 10 concerts in February 2024.  Following demonstrated success, subsequent funding for a year round concert series at SHC is now underway, launching September 2024. ($11,000 + $19,000)

A MUSIC CARE application pilot is underway on acute neurology units at Foothills Medical Centre.  This is a web-based application developed in Paris, France to reduce pain and anxiety in hospitalized patients and during procedures.  Calgary Health Foundation funding supported costs for licenses, tablets, cases, headphones, and workshop training for healthcare staff.  After 6 months, 1000 sessions had been delivered, and recorded outcomes of 35% reduction in pain or anxiety in those sessions with post-session evaluations available for analysis.  $30,000

Nomination for the Provincial President’s Excellence Alberta Health Care (AHS) Award in Patient and Family-Centered Care Category - Calgary Zone Music Therapy program (Foothills Medical Centre site)

Recognition in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences Annual Report from 2017-onwards. 

Best Poster presentation QI category, Best Poster Presentation Overall. Integrating music therapy into neuro-rehabilitation for improved patient experience and outcomes: A QI project.  CAPMR Annual Scientific conference May 2019.  Leah Mercier and Stephanie Plamondon

Semi-finalist i4 AHS Innovation Launchpad Competition.  Mental Health and Wellness category. November 3-4th, I4 2021 – Alberta Innovates.  “Telepresence Robots as Patient Support Tools to Reduce Isolation”. Stephanie Plamondon

Paper of the Year, Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Charlottetown, PEI, May 2023 “Charlottetown, PEI. Effects of music therapy on mood, pain, and satisfaction in the neurologic inpatient setting. 2022;1Online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2022.2117863

"Healing through Music Therapy"  video has been posted to AHS YouTube.

CBC radio’s White Coat Black Art featured a Foothills music program patient receiving music therapy in May 2018.   Neuroscience of Music interview with Dr. Michael Thaut of the Music Collaboratory, U of Toronto.

Global, CTV, and Metro News also featured news stories on World Music Therapy day, March 1, 2018 for the partnership between AHS, JB Music Therapy, and the National Music Centre with this donation.  

Dr. Bullock and Erin Thrall also featured October 2018 on Global Calgary about the role music can play in self-care and the positive impact on mental health.

HEAR Music Alberta Introduction video created with financial support from ISC and uploaded to Winter Solace Concert series on the Asylum for Art website. 

Hospital's music therapy program becomes lifeline for patients, CBC Eyeopener news, Feb 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/hospital-patient-music-therapy-1.5896426

Calgary organization designs music and breathwork program to help with pandemic mental health challenges.  CBC news August 14, 2021 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-healing-centred-cooperative-music-covid-1.6140455

Arts For Wellness concert series at the South Health Campus bringing music to patients, families and staff, Feb 2024, CTV news, https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/arts-for-wellness-concert-series-at-the-south-health-campus-bringing-music-to-patients-families-and-staff-1.6779730

AHS youtube, Music therapy promotes well-being, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ovj6CJGiAk

The music never stops at South Health Campus: A concert series that helps lift spirits and heal Albertans at South Health Campus in Calgary is back for a second season.https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=91061DB36AF12-DCE9-A7F5-114E6DBB604D0C99, Government of Alberta website.

Wordfest presents Adriana Barton, Hosted by Erin Thrall. Conversation with the author on her new book blending science and memoir Wired for Music: A Search for Health & Joy Through the Science of Sound.

Honens International Piano competition - Mind over Music Series panel discussion: Healing the Brain Through Music livestream.  https://vimeo.com/755713318 with Nicolas Namoradze, Bin Hu, Jennifer Buchanan, Andrew Bulloch, Stephanie Plamondon, October 22, 2022

Freedom in Form free virtual event open to the public May 28, 2021 by the Instrumental Society of Calgary.  An evening of music and neuroscience with Timepointe Ensemble, Ty the Neuro Guy of Branch Out Foundation and Stephanie Plamondon.  Focused on how we play and thrive on pattern and variation in music and daily life.

Breathe, Speak, Pace – An innovative program to help individuals manage symptoms of long COVID led by a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist and Voice Specialist, HEAR Music member, Dr. Rachel Goldenberg, Ambrose University, and other pre-pandemic program Breathe, Sing, Move for chronic lung disease patients.  Colleague providing the program: Jessica DeMars - PT

Cumming School of Medicine Quartet – performances to promote wellness for staff and students at University of Calgary with member Dr. Rena Far, Neurosurgery resident in training, pre-pandemic.  The Quartet performed at Calgary Health Humanities Symposium on Sept. 25th, 2021.

FMC Neuro-rehabilitation unit live community musician concert series – with organization by graduate student Julie Joyce and collaboration with University of Calgary music students, faculty, and Prophets of Music organization.

Introduction to Music therapy courses designed and taught by MTAs Fleur Hughes and Sheila Killoran at University of Calgary, Ambrose and Alberta respectively.

Public presentations including Provincial Stroke and Alberta wide Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Grand Rounds and the Spinal Cord Injury forum. 

Jennifer Buchanan - presentations too numerous to count, see jbmusictherapy.com.  Award-winning Author, Keynote speaker.  

Dissemination of scientific knowledge at a National level with a Quality Improvement poster presentation at the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Scientific Meeting in Gatineau, QC, May 2019.  Won 1st place in QI category and 1st place poster presentation overall for the conference

Quality improvement poster re-presented internationally in November, 2019, in Chicago, USA at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the largest interdisciplinary rehabilitation medicine conference in the world with 3000 attendees this year.  The poster abstract was published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the most cited rehabilitation journal.

Telepresence Robot Usability Study for music therapy and peer-support programs in neuro-rehabilitation pilot quality improvement project completed and presented as a poster at International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Virtual Annual conference June 12-15, 2021.  Plans underway for potential spread to other units, updated telepresence robot models.

Music in Medicine Symposium, Edmonton, AB/U of Alberta, February 2020 - Music in Neuro-rehabilitation: Foothills Medical Centre Early Program Results”

6th Biannual Calgary Health Humanities Symposium – September 24, 2021 – “Health Benefits of Music”, Co-presenter with Erin Thrall, Instrumental Society of Calgary Outreach, Brad Mahon, Dean, Faculty of Continuing Education and Director Conservatory of Music, Moderator

Collaborative Family Healthcare Association in partnership with Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Integrated Care Conference – October 21, 2021 – “Discussion Group 201: From professional musicians to certified music therapists: A musical spectrum of accessible healing tools across the healthcare to community mental health continuum” Co-presenter with Elaine Cheung, MTA, and Erin Thrall, Instrumental Society of Calgary Outreach.  North American conference.

Creating Spaces 12: Canadian Association of Health Humanities. Calgary, AB April 22-23.  Keynote speaker, Jennifer Buchanan, and music mini-symposium speakers Tiffany Brulotte and Leah Mercier, organizing committee Tom Rosenal, Michael Frishkopf, Stephanie Plamondon, Oswald Chen

ACRM 99th (American Congress of Rehabilitation) Annual Conference in Chicago, USA, November 7-11, 2022.  Symposium entitled, "Use of Music Therapy in the Neurorehabilitation and ICU setting".  Presented by Leah Mercier, Rena Far, Jesse Dollimont and Stephanie Plamondon

Opening Keynote presentation, Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Scientific Meeting, May 2023, Charlottetown, PEI.  Dr. Stephanie Plamondon and Katherine Lowings, MTA. "At the intersection of Art and Science: The Compelling Case for Music Therapy and Digital Music Medicine in Neurorehabilitation"

Plenary presentation, 54th CANN conference, Canmore, AB   June 7, 2023. Dr. Stephanie Plamondon and Dr. Rena Far. "The crossroads of Art and Science:  Music Therapy and Digital Music Medicine in neurological care"

ACRM website – Arts and Neurosciences Cognition Task Force ICU evidence summaries for music in ICU published January 2021, Dr. Plamondon contributor. Learn more about it here! 

Branch Out Foundation with Crystal Phillips, Executive Director, October 2019  “This is Your Brain on Art” event's Music in Healthcare Video created in collaboration with the Instrumental Society of Calgary, and HEAR Music members.

HEAR Music Alberta Introduction video created with financial support from ISC and uploaded to Winter Solace Concert series on the Asylum for Art website.