SPL HEALTH
of Lakeland, who is with his mom
Loretta Samuels. Finley’s face
brightens when he sees Gunner and
he invites him up on the bed for a
few minutes. Finley has been here a
while, he’s gone through 29 rounds
of chemo since August. But there’s
nothing like a dog to brighten up
his day.
If you hear singing coming from
a hospital room, it’s no surprise.
Johns Hopkins’ music therapy
program brings the sound of
music to patients and caregivers
every day. Music therapist Erin
Siebert covers the entire hospital,
sometimes with her guitar,
sometimes not, to visit up to a half
dozen patients each day.
The bulk of her time is in the neonatal intensive care unit which
has 97 out of the hospital’s 256 beds. “The advantages of music
therapy include pain management, decreasing agitation,
increasing family bonding, a lot of babies may be older than 3
months and at that point there is a great need for developing
their cognitive abilities,” explains Siebert. “It even works with
Where Quality Matters.
Lisa Garner, MD, FAAD Michael Tharp, MD, FAAD Juliette Pistorino, PA-C
Medical Dermatology • Surgical Dermatology
Cosmetic Dermatology
Visit our website for a full list of services
www.phdermatology.com
58 StPeteLifeMag.com May/June 2020
generally assisting the parent with
gentle humming or singing, which
is soothing to both parents and
babies.”
Today she has guitar in tow and is
visiting Aiden Tomas and his parents
Karina and Julio Tomas. Tiny Aiden
was born prematurely at 26 weeks
and has spent his entire life of 4
months in the neonatal intensive
care unit. He’s a favorite with Erin
who notices small changes from
week to week during her visits.
It’s quiet and dim in the room, with
the big machines attached to the
baby whirring and blinking numbers
and graphs. Siebert steps up to the
crib and starts strumming gently
on her guitar. In a hushed voice
she starts singing “Itsy bitsy spider climbs up the water spout
…” Aiden, with eyes closed, seems serene. His mother insists he
Erin comes to sing, she says.
Perhaps one day soon Karina Tomas will be singing “Itsy Bitsy
Spider” to Aiden in their own home. It will be a familiar tune,
thanks to Erin Siebert and the magic of music therapy.
St Pete Location Now Open!
6450 38th Ave. N., Suite 330 St. Pete, FL 33710
Schedule An Appointment Today: 727.273.8267
“You’ve Never Been Treated So Well”
mdern contemporary
Mon-Sat 10-
Sun 12-5
7211 S Tamiami Trail
Sarasota
941-923-2569
copenhagen-imports.com
F U R N I T U R E + L I G H T I N G + A C C E N T S
/www.phdermatology.com
/StPeteLifeMag.com
/copenhagen-imports.com