Elaine Vuong Joins Music Therapy Program

Golisano Children’s Hospital’s music therapy team of one is happy to welcome Elaine Vuong as a second member of the staff. Vuong’s 15-hour-per-week position is currently being funded by the Battle of the Beaks basketball games, annual games played between Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College’s boys’ and girls’ teams that are largely supported by the Rochester community.

Vuong, a board-certified music therapist, received her Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy, with a minor in Psychology and a certification in music education, from Nazareth College. She then went on to get her Master of Music in Music Therapy at Florida State University, but always intended to come back to serve the community where she grew up.

Before Vuong, Rosemary Obi was the only music therapist on staff and, therefore, had to spread herself thin across all of the patient units. Now Obi can focus on providing music therapy for patients in the new Golisano Children’s Hospital tower as Vuong works with patients on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) on the fourth floor of Strong Memorial Hospital.  
“It’s so important to be able to expand the availability of music therapy services,” said Vuong. “It’s especially critical while we are in transition between Phase II construction on the new Golisano Children’s Hospital and, as a result, still having some patients on units at Strong Memorial Hospital.”

Music therapy has been shown to help in healing. “It helps in a number of ways: we use it to help children and parents connect, to sooth patients who are in pain, to play with patients and engage them, and so much more,” said Vuong.

“I love being able to use what I love to help patients get better.”

If interested in learning more about helping to support the music therapy program, please contact Stephanie Sheets for more information at Stephanie.Sheets@rochester.edu.