Literature and Medicine

Healing has as much to do with the soul as the body. So how can the humanities be a support to our healthcare system—and to some of our most vulnerable patients, wounded veterans? Our answer has been to begin to bring the Literature & Medicine program to VA hospitals in California.

This program helps caregivers and, ultimately, improves the quality of patient care. Hospital workers engage in deep, facilitated discussions about issues related to their work and their patients and revealed by poetry, personal narratives, fiction, and films. Since 2009, Cal Humanities has been working with VA hospitals—now in Fresno, Palo Alto, and Sacramento—to train staff and scholar-facilitators. Our involvement in Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care® is part of a national effort initiated by the Maine Humanities Council.

Visit us at www.calhum.org.
Filmed, directed and edited by Julia Maryanska
Lighting by Audrey Wright
Sound and music mix by Shane Allen
Produced by Regan Douglass & Julia Maryanska
Thanks to Cal Humanities program staff Vanessa Whang, Felicia Kelley, and Tonya Jones and to all those involved in the Lit & Med programs.