Holly Mentzer, a music therapist from MSK’s Integrative Medicine Department raises the spirits and brings peace to patients across the hospital. The music therapists at MSK offer both individual and group sessions as well as art and movement therapy to ease pain, build social connections, and provide comfort to patients. Holly brings her harp to Garrett Lambert’s isolation room and they “make the enclosed room feel like a serene, welcoming space as she and Lambert harmonize.”

A study jointly led by Shannon Carson, MD (UNC Chapel Hill), Judith Nelson, MD, JD, and Christopher Cox, MD (Duke) published on July 5 in JAMA showed that ICU clinicians were as effective at communication and family support as specialized palliative care teams for families of chronically ill patients in the ICU.
Citation: Carson SS, Cox CE, Wallenstein S, et al. Effect of Palliative Care–Led Meetings for Families of Patients With Chronic Critical Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2016;316(1):51-62. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.8474.

MSK’s The Lounge opens for teens and young adults as a place for support, socializing, and a safe place to ask questions and get important resources geared for the needs of this age group. The space is open to both inpatient and outpatients between the ages of 16 and 30 being treated at MSK. The program has also created a Peer-2-Peer program which buddies current patients with former patients to provide support and encouragement throughout treatment. In the fall the third aspect of the program, a secure app, will be released allowing these patients to interact with one another from home with each other as well in a safe and secure place.

Congratulations to Ethel Law, NP in the Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service, for being named the DailyNurse’s Nurse of the Week on July 6th!!

Jonathan Rosenberg, MD discusses the future of atezolizumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma and whether the drug can be moved to a front line treatment option for patients.