Bedside Harp®’s Healing Sound Sessions

Program Notes 2–4
Administrators’ Corner
Encore!
Bedside Harp® Community Sounds 7
5
6 P
Upcoming Events 7 and one doctor were
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
Edie Elkan, Founding Director
Diana V. Nolan, Editor
Neshaminy Medical Professional Center
4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4
Bensalem, PA 19020
(PA) 215-752-7599; (NJ) 609-273-0068
Facsimile: 215-752-0529
Report
at Abington Memorial Hospital
alliative and geriat-
ric care nurses,
nurse administrators
levels at 9, one at 8,
one at 7, two at 6, and
one at 4. Astound-
Topping off the day
was a forwarded mes-
sage Edie received
ingly, all of them re- from Susan Kristniak,
among the seven who ported a lowering of Nurse Manager of Pal-
received a 15-minute those levels, amount- liative and Pastoral
sound bath in the early ing to their feeling Care Services. One of
morning hours of No- 85.6 percent less stress the recipients wrote to
vember 11 at Abington after the session. Pain Susan: “I wanted to
Memorial Hospital, levels were decidedly tell you how much I
host to Bedside Harp® lower before the ses- enjoyed the TLC this
for the past three years. sion: one was at 7, one AM . It was a hectic
Working in a lavender- at 6, one at 4, two at 3, morning, and the time
infused massage room and two at 0. Again, all spent relaxing and
with a bass therapy with pain reported a ‘vibrating’ was well
harp, Tibetan bowls, lowering of their levels, spent. Edie said I

bells, tingshaws, tuning amounting to their feel- would have a good

forks and a drum, Edie ing 86.6 percent less day; so far it is great!
Elkan, assisted by Nancy pain after the session. Anytime you need a
Beal, delivered healing As meaningful were specimen, consider
vibrations to these the comments recipi- me. Thanks, once
healthcare professionals ents wrote at the bot- again, It was terrific!!”
just before their hectic tom of their evalua-
day began. tions: “Wonderful! 2009 OCT YTD
The outcomes of the Extremely refresh- Number of patients
sessions were remark- ing!!” “Great!! “Just in our host hospitals
able. We asked each who received live
®

taking the time to harp therapy ses-

882 7,532
recipient to assess their breathe is good. A sions lasting five or
more minutes
stress and pain levels 440 is my tone!”
before and after their “Thank you for shar- Number of hours of
live harp therapy
session, on a scale from ing your gifts!” delivered to pa-
tients, their loved
0 (none) to 10. Of the “Relaxing. Enjoy- ones, staff and
171.25 1,658
seven, two reported able. Felt tension doctors at our host
hospitals
their “before” stress leave with the bells!”

Newsletter Editor Leaving Bedside Harp®

In 2003, my friend grown the spare bed- newsletter. Over the
Nancy Beal told me room where I started, years I have enjoyed
about an “amazing, the Great Room, the getting to know those
inspiring woman” who first outside office, and of you I have profiled
was teaching her to Bedside Harp® keeps for the newsletter and
play the harp and on growing. My initial all of the interns whose
needed someone to duties grew and ex- reports I read every
help organize her new panded, too, and most day. As of January 15,
business. Next thing I were eventually passed I will be leaving to pur-
THE

knew, I had been hired, on to others as I began sue other opportunities.

before I even realized I to focus on our de- I wish everyone contin-
was looking for a job. tailed monthly reports ued success.
Over the last seven to the host hospitals —Diana Nolan, Editor
years, we have out- and to this quarterly The Bedside Harp Report
Page 1
cÜÉzÜtÅ aÉàxá
Bedside Harp®’s 7th Annual Celebration and Graduation
On Sunday August 16, a warm sunny
day in Mercerville, NJ, bagpiper Jaime
Bryson led an entourage of new gradu-
ates and their teachers into the audito-
rium of Robert Wood Johnson Univer-
sity Hospital Hamilton’s Center for
Health and Wellness. Sister Jane Ur-
ban, HCHT, led a moving invocation
before Diane Grillo, Senior Vice Presi-
dent, Chief Learning and Communica-
tions Officer of RWJUH Hamilton,
and Edie Elkan welcomed everyone in
attendance. Bedside Harp’s 7th annual
graduation, graciously hosted by
RWJUH Hamilton every year, cele-
brated the achievements of eight
graduates.
The conference of certifications
was preceded by the presentation of
the 2009 Bedside Harp® Living Leg-
end Award to Diane Grillo. Diane,
who along with Diann Mancuso, now
Director of RWJUH Hamilton’s Cen-
ter for Health and Wellness, first met
Edie in October 200, saw the birth of
Bedside Harp at RWJUH Hamilton in
February 2002, and has been there
through the years, cheering and inspir-
ing all who play at her hospital.
Speakers included Barbara
Conversations on Ethics Now for Harp and Other Therapists Everywhere
This winter’s offering of our online
ethics course “Conversations on Ethics
for Harp Therapists,” will be run
through Bucks County Community
College and will, for the first time, be
open to anyone wishing to enhance
their understanding of the responsibili-
ties and challenges facing harp and
other integrative modality therapists
working in healthcare today.
Highly interactive, substantive
and thought-provoking, this course
received high marks from all who
took it in its pilot form last winter.
Many, in fact, believed it should be a
required course for all adults from all
walks of life.
Page 2
Wadsworth, Senior Vice President,
Chief Nursing Officer of Abington
Memorial Hospital; Nina Rubin,
Hospital Nutrition Services at The
Valley Hospital; John Marcanto-
nio, Director of Patient Satisfac-
tion at Robert Wood Johnson Uni-
versity Hospital at Rahway; and
Diane Grillo. Administrator after
administrator sang the praises of
our programs and our work as we
at Bedside Harp soaked up all the
wonderful compliments and mov-
ing stories.
The 2009 graduates who worked
their internships at Abington Memo-
rial Hospital included Pat Craig,
Certified Mastery Harp Therapist,
Hospital Intensive; Jane Oskutis,
Hospital-Certified Harp Therapist;
Diane Pechansky, Hospital-Certified
Master Harp Therapist; and Kathy
Platt, Certified Harp Therapist, Hos-
pital Intensive.
Those who worked their intern-
ships at The Valley Hospital in-
cluded Jan Lucas, Hospital-Certified
Harp Therapist; and Jim Sutherland,
Hospital-Certified Harp Therapist.
From Robert Wood Johnson Univer-
The Bucks County Community
College course code for
"Conversations on Ethics for Harp
Therapists" is WSMCE 4020 C30
and the course is scheduled to run
from January 4 through March 29,
2010. Our main text is The Ethics of
Touch, by Ben E. Benjamin, Ph.D.
and Cherie Sohnen-Moe.
Requirements include frequent
(at least twice weekly) online re-
sponsive postings on a discussion
board, journaling (this will not be
turned in) and a reflective paper at
the course’s end. The reflective pa-
per will be a summary of what you
feel you received from this course of
sity Hospital at Rah-
way, Patricia Steb-
bins, Certified Harp
Therapist, Hospital
Intensive; and from
Robert Wood John-
son University Hos-
pital Hamilton, Janet
Zimmerly, Hospital- Diane Grillo
Certified Master Harp Therapist.
Our instructional students, certifi-
cation interns and graduates, instruc-
tional mentors, professional harp
therapists and administrators were then
all honored with a different color rose.
The program ended with Cantor
Marlena Taenzer singing And You
Shall Be a Blessing by Debbie Fried-
man, and a beautiful benediction deliv-
ered by Sister Jane Urban.
Once the formal ceremonies had
ended, everyone enjoyed a spectacu-
lar spread of delicious wraps and
macaroni salad, decadent brownies
and cookies. The day, as the six
celebrations before it, left everyone
at Bedside Harp all the more deter-
mined to continue to make a differ-
ence in healthcare throughout this
country.
study. This course is a prerequi-
site to all subsequent courses in
Bedside Harp’s mastery level of
harp therapy certification. Cost is
$250.00 payable to Bucks County
Community College. Registration
deadline is December 15, 2009.
You may register by calling
Carol Mikulski, Executive Direc-
tor, Continuing Education, Bucks
County Community College at
215-504-8578. Once you have
registered, please contact Shan-
non Barletti at Bedside Harp® at
215-752-7599 to confirm that
you will be joining us in this
online offering.
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
Letter from the Chief Nursing Officer at Abington Memorial Hospital
Following this year’s graduation cele-
bration, Barbara Wadsworth, Chief
Nursing Officer at Abington Memorial
Hospital, published the following let-
ter in the Nurses Notes publication for
Abington staff:
Dear Colleagues,
As I returned from Bedside Harp
graduation on Sunday afternoon, I
was again reminded how special
Abington Memorial Hospital is to us
and our community. We had four
graduates complete their certification
and several of them traveled over 100
miles each time they came to play at
our hospital. One of our newest stu-
dents was a patient in our hospital and
received a visit from the harpist. She
was so moved by the experience she is
now herself taking lessons.
The gradation is like no other,
welcomed with a harp circle, a piper
(bagpiper) plays the procession as
the graduates enter and each hospi-
tal that is fortunate enough to have
Bedside Harp speaks and confers
the certificates.
Edie Elkan Trains with Belleruth Naparstek
Inspired by her certification students
and fueled by her lifelong passion for
writing (she holds a BA with a con-
centration in nonfiction writing), it
seemed rather logical that Edie would
be drawn to writing guided imagery
scripts. Over the past several years,
she has written scripts for forgiveness,
peak performance and wellness. A
couple of years ago, when she was
preparing for her own gallbladder sur-
gery—her first surgery ever—she felt
the need to have someone else guide
her through her presurgical fears. Kay
Mengers pointed Edie to Belleruth
Naparstek. Not only did Edie respond
marvelously well to Belleruth’s sur-
gery preparation CD, she wanted to
find out as much as she could about
the marvelous lady who so well pre-
pared her for her procedure.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4
We remain the ONLY hospital in
Pennsylvania who offers this wonder-
ful service joined by the following
New Jersey hospitals: Robert Wood
Johnson University Hospital Hamilton
and Robert Wood Johnson University
Hospital Rahway, The Valley Hospital
and St. Clare’s Hospital.
The graduates, all students, certi-
fied harpists and master harp thera-
pists take the Oath of Service
speaking it aloud for all of us to
hear. The oath speaks to the use of
the harp, utilizing words like serve,
honor, understanding, compassion,
commitment to a lifetime of learn-
ing, respect, privacy, confidence,
work of the soul, special obliga-
tions to all my fellow human be-
ings and may I always act so as to
preserve the finest traditions of my
calling….
This was my third harp graduation
since first bringing Bedside Harp to
us in March 2007. The students who
have played for our patients repre-
sent thousands of hours. I have been
told so many stories from patients,
Belleruth Naparstek, a psycho-
therapist, is a nationally recognized
pioneer in guided imagery and intui-
tion. Her best-selling first book, Stay-
ing Well with Guided Imagery, is a
widely used and respected primer for
medical professionals and health con-
sumers. Her second book, Your Sixth
Sense, has been translated into several
languages and has been called one of
the most comprehensive and thought-
ful looks at the nature of intuition. Your
Sixth Sense has now been added to our
required mastery book list.
When Edie learned that Belleruth
was scheduled to present a two-day
workshop in Alexandria, VA, she im-
mediately registered for the event.
Edie reported that the workshop
was “singularly the best I’ve ever at-
tended anywhere with anyone. Belle-
families, staff and physicians depict-
ing how they were sincerely touched
by an experience with the harpist.
Each story has a small element
unique to that patient or situation.
Even the music is individualized
and touches the hearts of our pa-
tients and families.
This year we begin a research
project on our stroke unit to en-
gage patients with the smallest of
harps to improve their cognition
and motor skills immediately fol-
lowing a stroke. We believe the
vibrations of the harp and the en-
gagement of the patients may re-
store their function. This study is
the first of its kind.
Edie Elkan, Founding Director of
Bedside Harp is a living angel who
brings this gift and serves our pa-
tients in a very special manner. I
know you will agree when I tell
you—WE ARE FORTUNATE!!
and blessed in many ways.
Warmest regards,
—Barbara Wadsworth
Chief Nursing Officer
ruth is a
gracious,
generous
teacher
who
shared
her wis- Edie Elkan and Belleruth Naparstek
dom on
guided imagery, drawing from her rich
experience and far-reaching research
in the field. The workshop was as
much experiential as it was didactic.
Belleruth would lead the group in a
guided meditation and afterwards de-
construct the script—showing us, sym-
bol by symbol, metaphor by metaphor,
why she placed what she placed into
the script.” Having now sat at the feet
of this wise and highly creative master,
Edie is already planning future guided
imagery projects.
Page 3
Graduation Words from RWJUH Rahway’s John Marcantonio
I salute and congratulate you gradu-
ates on the completion of your ardu-
ous certification process—hundreds
of hours of lessons, practice, work-
shops, patient rounding, reading and
journaling. Your process recalls my
seminary field work required for ordi-
nation.
My first field placement was a
personal choice based on a fear and
even an aversion for a place that I
needed to get over if I were to engage
in pastoral ministry: the hospital. I
was given a list of patients to visit and
reported back to my supervisor to dis-
cuss the interactions verbatim. Here’s
how my first report went: When I
asked the patient how she was doing,
she said, “I’m going home tomor-
row!” I replied: “Oh, that’s good.”
My supervisor stopped me right
there. Great, John. You assumed that
going home was GOOD for this pa-
tient. You judged her experience with-
out hearing it. What if going home
means returning to an abusive envi-
ronment? What if a hospital stay is a
respite from emotional or psychologi-
cal violence, and discharge is a return
to anguish? We will never know. You
ended any opportunity for open dia-
logue. Your response confirmed the
many messages of society to battered
women: shut up and bear it! After
they swept up the little pieces of me I
Bedside Harp® in Abington Memorial Hospital’s Integrative Nursing Council
Late last summer Abington Memo-
rial Hospital graciously invited
Edie Elkan to be a member of their
newly formed Integrative Nursing
Council. The Council hopes to pro-
vide education and training pro-
grams in a wide variety of integra-
tive therapies to its nurses in its
goal of their using these therapies
on patients. Two therapies the
Council has organized competen-
cies for are aromatherapy and
reiki. Even though neither are
nurses, both Edie and Nancy Beal
Page 4
realized lesson number one: do no
harm. Even with the best intentions,
words can hurt or prevent healing.
Another field placement for semi-
nary found me in a residential place-
ment center for juvenile girls. Many
had been in trouble with the law,
many had been abandoned, most had
experienced sexual or physical abuse.
Two of us visited them in their ex-
panded living room and shared a meal
with them. Our objective was a minis-
try of presence: to listen to them if
they felt like talking or simply share
our time with them. Most of these
girls lacked one single reason to ever
trust a man again, so for the majority
of our time there we were simply ig-
nored. Strangely enough, whenever
we started to leave after this somewhat
uncomfortable time of doing or saying
nothing, one would ask: Why do you
have to leave now? Lesson number
two: there is comforting, healing
power in intentional and compassion-
ate presence.
Given these experiences and so
many others like it in the thirty years
since, it is very easy for me to under-
stand, to foresee and to rejoice in the
healing moments that you newly certi-
fied harp therapists will engender.
Forgive us healthcare professionals
whose work depends upon speaking,
prescribing, explaining and administer-
requested and were accepted to
take both of these courses of study.
Behind the scenes of the Integra-
tive Nursing Council at Abington
Memorial Hospital is Senior Vice
President and Chief Nursing Officer
Barbara Wadsworth who empowers
and inspires Susan Kristniak, Chair
of the Council and Nurse Manager of
Palliative and Pastoral Care Services,
to encourage nurses to become quali-
fied and then to put to good use these
integrative modalities with their pa-
tients. The program is already mak-
ing. By words we will often do harm—
not intentionally—but by the nature of
the medium, the spoken word, the wrong
word, at the wrong time, the lack of
words when one would mean so much or
any word when the prescription demands
a reverent silence.
How fortunate are you in your
nonverbal profession! Your ancient
instrument of healing speaks for you:
vibrations replacing syllables, resonat-
ing in carefully selected tones and
rhythms. Continue to pursue excel-
lence in your profession. Devote your-
self to that careful selection, to the
choice of the right tones. Sharpen your
listening and observation skills so that
your response is appropriate to the
anxiety, the fear and the pain which
sometimes screams but more often
whispers before you.
Remember that your work of heal-
ing begins with intentional and com-
passionate presence. Your competence
will inform and enrich this presence,
but no amount of competence will sub-
stitute for it.
Finally, go in confidence. Unlike
my earliest one, your patients will gen-
tly have their current life experience
acknowledged rather than abruptly
restrained; and as you depart from
those rooms, know that the unspoken
thought of so many will be: Why do
you have to leave now?
ing a difference: recently, a recov-
ery room nurse trained in aro-
matherapy advised the worried
wife of an anxious post-surgical
patient to massage her husband’s
feet with lavender lotion. A few
minutes later when the nurse came
in to check on them, the lavender
had so relaxed them, both had
fallen blissfully asleep!
How fortunate we are to be able
to participate in this exciting new
program at Abington Memorial Hos-
pital.
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
Administrators’ Corner: A Conversation with Barbara Wadsworth
Administrators at our host facilities
continue to be very supportive of
Bedside Harp® programs. As seen
on the previous two pages of this
newsletter, accolades and praise are
generally forthcoming when these
administrators are asked to reflect on
their experiences with Bedside Harp
In this conclusion of our year-long
series of conversations with adminis-
trators, we report on a recent inter-
view Edie conducted with Barbara
Wadsworth, Senior Vice President
for Patient Services and Chief Nurs-
ing Officer at Abington Memorial
Hospital (AMH) in Abington, PA.
Barbara began by explaining
how AMH became a host facility
for our programs. She was con-
tacted by Cheryl Cohen, a Bedside
Harp graduate, who introduced her
to the idea of harp therapy and ex-
plained what we did. Barbara had
an immediate attraction to the idea
and hired Cheryl promptly and
soon was fortunate enough to meet
with Edie and bring the entire pro-
gram to the hospital. Barbara feels
the program offers a huge benefit
to their patients.
The program is most impressive
because of the ability of our harp
therapists to connect with patients
and families. Barbara indicated that
the connections are made “very sub-
tly and without asking questions.
The harp therapists have a presence
about them, and an understanding of
many situations that can occur in the
facility.” Barbara also admires the
warmth and compassion of the
graduates and interns who work at
AMH, noting that it is “touching,
and you can feel it.” She feels this is
the most meaningful offering our
harp therapists provide.
The effects of harp therapy do
not only benefit the patients at AMH.
Barbara notes that the entire commu-
nity—meaning the physicians, nurs-
ing staff, residents and everyone who
hears the music—is affected by the
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4
music coming from the therapeutic bara notes, “is
harps. “You can tell when a harpist key to ongoing
has walked into the emergency wellness.” Our
room waiting room—it changes the current study is
feel and the tone of that waiting under way but
room, so the benefits of harp ther- information and
apy are really far-reaching and not updates will be
limited to simply wandering, nood- presented in the
ling in the hallways.” Playing for newsletter as
individual patients is important, but they become
beyond that, it reaches people available.
throughout the facility. “Even in the Bedside Harp is a relatively new
cafeteria...families and patients have presence at AMH—they have hosted
stopped harpists to say that they our programs since March 2007—
were touched by harp therapy.” however Barbara says we have had a
Bedside Harp brings a number definite impact on the community
of benefits to the hospital, according there. She is proud to note that AMH is
to Barbara. Overseeing patient satis- currently the only hospital in Pennsyl-
faction, she is aware of the impact it vania hosting Bedside Harp. She faith-
has in that area. Barbara notes that fully reads the reports we send
patients are surprised; harp therapy monthly, detailing our harp therapists’
is unexpected and patients are often encounters and experiences in the hos-
very impressed that AMH has harp- pital. She is impressed that there is
ists. Even if they do not understand always a story about a repeat patient,
the physiologic and emotional im- or a family, or a critical time for the
pact of harp therapy, they are patient and family, or a piece of music
pleased with the offering. that a harpist has gone home to learn
AMH is also reaping the bene- so they can play it the next time they
fits of a groundbreaking research come. The harpists come in and
study conducted with Bedside Harp. change the environment for the patient,
We recently launched a study there the family and the caregivers and have
involving stroke patients (see the a positive impact on the scene.
May issue of The Bedside Harp Re- Bedside Harp has produced a
port). Experience has shown that DVD of interviews of our host hos-
stroke patients who have the oppor- pital administrators talking about the
tunity to listen to harp music and to differences our program and work
have the harp in their hands actually make in their facilities. For a free
demonstrate better motor skills and copy of this DVD, please contact
improved functioning, which, Bar- shannon@bedsideharp.com.
SUBSCRIPTIONS & ADVERTISING
The Bedside Harp® Report is distributed to all Bedside Harp® students and
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Center, 4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4, Bensalem, PA 19020.
Page 5
XÇvÉÜx4 Pat Stebbins
In August, we celebrated the gradua-
tions of eight new Bedside Harp®
Certified Harp Therapists, including
Pat Stebbins who traveled from Ver-
mont to take part in our certification
program. Pat began the certification
program in the Spring 2007 class at
Robert Wood Johnson University
Hospital in Rahway, NJ. She took
two modules there, then continued
the program in Spring 2008 at our
Valley Hospital location. For Pat,
arriving at Rahway for the first mod-
ule, she felt that she had landed right
where she needed to be.
Pat had some musical back-
ground: she had taken piano lessons
starting when she was three, and
harp lessons starting when she was
33. She came to the harp by way of
the bagpipes. Because of her Scot-
tish heritage, Pat was drawn to bag-
pipes, however the dizziness she
experienced (and several collisions
with the walls and doorways) forced
her to admit that bagpipes were not
for her. However, while attending a
Scottish festival near her home, she
came upon a roomful of about 25
Celtic harpists and she discovered an
instrument she could play. She
bought a Dusty Strings 26-string
harp and a Sylvia Woods “teach-
yourself” book and learned to play
the harp, eventually taking formal
lessons as well.
Pat wanted to do more than just
perform with her harp and a few
years ago began researching differ-
ent harp therapy programs and all
the possibilities. After extensive re-
search, including lists of all the re-
quirements and the opportunities for
internships, she was always being
pulled back to the Bedside Harp pro-
gram. She appreciated our blend of
the spiritual with the practical, the
opportunities for hands-on learning
and the physical and pragmatic ap-
proach to harp therapy.
As she moved through her certi-
fication journey, Pat was undergoing
a difficult divorce and her daughter
Page 6
moved away to a distant state.
She credits her classmate, Jan
Lucas, with helping to allow her
to complete the program. Jan
offered a spare bedroom in her
home, so Pat didn’t have to
worry about housing costs dur-
ing her time spent in the mod-
ules and internship. About half
of Pat’s internship was com-
pleted at our Rahway location
and half took place closer to her
Vermont home in nursing
homes, private settlings, and even a
local high school. At the high
school, Pat played weekly for a life-
skills class for students with learning
issues and who had come from abu-
sive situations. She hopes to go back
to that setting now that she has re-
ceived her certification credentials.
Pat faced several challenges
over the course of her internship.
Her biggest challenge was trying not
to think of her therapeutic playing as
a performance. “I had to get over the
feeling that I was being judged, and
know that what I had to offer was
good enough,” she explains. She
knew she was competent, but still
had to get over that feeling and set it
aside. She learned to play simply,
but meaningfully: “Fewer notes,
played from the heart.”
One of her most difficult situa-
tions was one day when she was
greeted by a group of children whose
mother was in ICU. They were not
allowed into the unit to visit, and
asked her if she would play for their
mother. When she left the ICU, the
children crowded around to ask her
how their mother was doing and how
she looked. It was hard to see the
resigned looks on the faces of the
children, especially the oldest, who
did not seem convinced by her an-
swer that their mother was “resting.”
During her internship, Pat also
had rewarding experiences. One eve-
ning she took part in an event near
her home where she offered healing
music to acquaint people with the
effects of harp therapy. After the
presentation, one woman came for-
ward to speak to Pat. She told her
that she was very sick from chemo-
therapy and felt tired, and had only
come out to the presentation because
her partner had urged her. While
listening to the harp, she said her
pain went away. “I had no idea I
could feel so much better,” she told
Pat. Pat was moved by her story, and
reminded of the healing powers of
sounds from her harp.
The certification program was
also tremendously healing for Pat
who was undergoing her own per-
sonal struggles. She credits the harp
with helping her go through these
life changes as easily as she did. Pat
has recently been hired by a facility
offering massage and alternative
therapies; she is available to provide
harp therapy alone, or in conjunction
with other therapies. So far she has
worked with the acupuncturist to
provide soothing music for nervous,
first-time acupuncture patients. She
is also playing regularly in an Alz-
heimer’s facility where her mother
resides and is working on getting
back into the high school setting
for the life-skills students. She also
hopes to continue in Bedside
Harp’s Mastery-Level certification
program
We are proud to have Pat among
our recent graduates and as part of
our extended Bedside Harp commu-
nity.
THE BEDSIDE HARP® REPORT
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®

There Is Joy in Singing with the Harp
Between classes that I teach at a fa-
cility for older adults, I have the op-
portunity to bring my harp and prac-
tice as well as play for the residents.
On Mondays between the morning
and afternoon classes there is time to
practice in the studio. Although my
playing is not perfect and often the
music is repeated because of im-
proper technique or misread notes,
or while noodling it just does not
sound quite right in my ear, it does
not matter. The sound drifts down
the long hall. The staff welcome the
sound and stop by to peek in and
smile stating that it sounds wonder-
ful. What encouragement!
Before the afternoon class I play
Sunita Staneslow Coming to Bedside Harp®
We are thrilled to welcome Sunita
Staneslow in February when she will
be coming to conduct her popular
workshop, “The Art of the Arpeggio”
in Bensalem on Thursday, February 25
and again on Friday, February 26 and
at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood,
NJ on Saturday, February 27. Sunita
will also play two concerts—one in
Bensalem on February 25 and the
other in Ridgewood on February 27.
Sunita is an international performing
artist who specializes in Celtic music
and Jewish music. Her many harp re-
Harpestry, by Nina
Rubin, Available Now
for those who arrive early. Surpris-
ingly they look forward to the 20 As reported in
minutes of singing and song re- the last issue of
quests. I ask, “What songs do you this newsletter,
want me to play today?” As they Nina Rubin, a
make requests I struggle to play cor- Bedside Harp®
rectly with one finger until I can de- graduate, has
cide what sounds familiar. Most of just published
the time they help me by singing the a volume of
melody and the words. With laughs called
and smiles and shared reminiscences Harpestry—
they remember the songs they sang. It A Collec-
is a serendipitous moment when it all tion of Po-
comes together: memories, voices, etry About
rhythm and melody. Extraordinary Experiences
—Brenda Hart, Playing the Harp for Patients in the
Instructional Student Hospital. The book is now avail-
Bucks County Community College able! The volume is priced at $12.50
+ $3.50 and can be purchased from
Bedside Harp, directly from Nina
(see below) or through her website,
www.poetrybynina.com.
cordings and harp books have built a
To pay by check, mail your check for
loyal following around the globe. $16.00 ($12.50 + $3.50 S/H)
Based in Israel Sunita is a frequent made payable to Nina Rubin to:
performer at festivals and concerts,
Nina Rubin
performing with the Celtic harp and
110 Steven Court
classical harp; solo, in duets and Monroe, NY 10950
with Israeli orchestras and bands.
She has also performed at embas- Please send _______ copy(ies) of
Harpestry to:
sies, the Israeli president’s resi- Name: ____________________________
dence, and at numerous private
events. She fills an important niche Address: __________________________
in performing arts entertainment in City/State/Zip: _____________________
Israel. Sunita plays therapeutic harp Phone: ___________________________
at an Israeli hospital.

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November 21 Beautiful Hands = Beautiful Sounds Workshop, Bedside Harp Great Room, Bensalem, PA
No More Same Ole: What to Do With the Left Hand Workshop, Bedside Harp Great Room, Bensalem, PA
Modes and Moods and Exotic Scales, Oh My! Workshop, Bedside Harp Great Room, Bensalem, PA
December 5 Harp Circle Performance, Bucks County Visitors Center, Bensalem, PA 2:00–3:00 PM
December 12 Harp Circle Performance, Bucks County Visitors Center, Bensalem, PA 12:30–1:30 PM
Bedside Harp Annual Holiday Celebration, Bedside Harp Great Room, Bensalem, PA 2:00–5:00 PM
January 4 – March 29 Conversations on Ethics for Harp Therapists, Bucks County Community College, online
February 25–26 Sunita Staneslow at Bedside Harp, workshops and concert, Bensalem
February 27 Sunita Staneslow at Bedside Harp, workshops and concert, The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ
March Conversations on Research for Harp Therapists

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4 Page 7


® use of the harp in healthcare. Committed to making a difference
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 therapeutic
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 certification;
and participate in research projects. We exist to bring relief,
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