Published: March 03, 2007 07:29 pm      

Music therapy boosts vets’ quality of life

DANVILLE — The World War II veteran in the grasp of Alzheimer’s disease couldn’t remember his wife’s name. But when the first notes of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” drifted across the room, he began singing along, recalling every word.

Sometimes a song will transport a soldier in time, bringing back memories of a young man on furlough at a popular club.

“You can see it in their eyes; you can see it in their reaction,” said Aubrey Dokos, a music therapist at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System. “They say, ‘It’s the highlight of our day.’

“It’s music that brings beauty into their lives.”

The VA system has used the power of music to stimulate memories and improve people’s health since the 1950s.

The local VA was one of the first to offer a full-time music therapy program, starting in the early 1980s, and to offer internships to college graduates.

The program is considered so useful it has survived budget cuts.

“We feel it’s just as important as any other rehab service,” said Bob Robinson, chief of voluntary services and recreational therapy. “The importance of music therapy isn’t fully understood by most lay people.”

In fact, Robinson recalled his own reaction when an assistant director recommended bringing in a part-time music therapist in the late 1970s. Robinson said it was a good idea, adding: “We need someone to play piano at birthday parties.”

He quickly learned music therapy is more than that.

Like any other therapy, it involves goals and assessments, and aims to improve a patient’s physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological health.

“I have learned over the years it’s well worth any resources we put into it,” Robinson said.

Dokos and the other full-time music therapist, Paula Payne, work with groups and one-on-one, both with residents and outpatients.

They staff a room filled with record albums and CDs, equipment, guitars, microphones and headphones. A keyboard on a cart can be wheeled around the building.

Veterans stop by to use the CD players with headphones or to borrow a player.

With Alzheimer’s patients, the therapists use music to draw upon the men’s long-term memory.

“They need encouragement, stimulation to interact with others,” Dokos said. “We use music to stimulate cognitive function.”

Dokos is only 24, so she’s learning about music from the 1930s and ’40s.

“It’s been fun to get to know the music they love,” she said.

Dokos, who’s from Utah, served a six-month internship with the VA and then joined as a staff member eight months ago.

Payne, who’s been with the VA for 23 years, and Dokos both have degrees in music therapy.

Both women sing and play guitar. Sometimes they play recorded music for the vets, and sometimes they feature live performances. The men, especially the young ones, like to sing karaoke, too.

In the past, the patients formed groups — including the Men of Note and the bell choir — that entertained other patients. Those groups are inactive now.

While the veterans enjoy the music, the therapists are using it as a tool and noting the patients’ reaction.

Payne recalled a stroke victim who was quite disabled and couldn’t talk. But when he heard a Johnny Cash song, the fingers on one hand would tap with the rhythm and a lopsided smile would brighten his face.

The therapists try to get the patients to sing along and to dance, as well.

“It’s good to get them to interact,” Dokos said.

Some activities, such as playing the bells, improve a patient’s eye-hand coordination. And music relieves the tension of everyday stress, Robinson said.

When he sees a patient who looks like he’s not enjoying his day and he then gets involved with music, Robinson said, “Something comes over them, and they become relaxed and want to participate.”

He sees the same reactions with the facility’s pet therapy program. When a veteran pets a dog, a change happens.

The VA also participates in the national creative arts program. Patients may submit tapes of a talent, such as drama and dance, or create an artwork and submit it in the annual competition among VA hospitals. This year, the first-place winners will perform in St. Louis.

In addition, the veterans participate in the wheelchair games and golden-age games with other VA facilities.

As for the music therapy program, Robinson said, “We’ve been very fortunate and blessed to have high quality people in our music therapy program treating patients and educating interns.”

The six-month internships draw students from across the country.

ILLIANA FACTS

Here are some facts about the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System, which has a hospital in Danville and community-based outpatient clinics in Springfield, Decatur, Peoria and West Lafayette, Ind. Danville has one of five hospitals in the state; another is in Marion, and three are in the Chicago area.

— The entire Illiana system, including the clinics, employs more than 1,100 people. That includes more than 1,000 people at the Danville facility.

— In the first quarter of fiscal year 2007, which began in October, the Illiana system handled 62,560 outpatient visits. That averages out to about 200,000 treatments and about 21,000 outpatients a year.

— The average daily census at the Danville hospital is 220 patients.

The local VA covers about 210 acres, including the golf course. The distance from the front gate to the front door of Building 98 is ½ mile.

— Building 104 is the hub of the local VA, and the other buildings connect like spokes. Only Buildings 58, 101 and 103 house patients.