Fall 2023

Carol Hatton Breast Care Center Lobby. Artwork pictured: Patricia M. Pierce- Atkinson (1942 – 1994), Untitled (Purple and Blue Swirl), 1986. Acrylic on linen. Gift of Kevin Causey and Cydney Payton. ©Estate of Patricia M. Pierce-Atkinson. O ne might expect to see a striking pho- tograph, seascape painting or sculpture while visiting a local art museum. In Monterey, that experience also happens at the hospital. Elizabeth Denholm, art collections manager at Montage Health, helps curate a collection meant to ease stress, inspire reflection, and improve health outcomes across more than 25 facilities. “When you’re undergoing a cancer treat - ment, for example, and you’re returning to the facility many times, your mental state is so important for the healing process. Artwork can really aid that,” she says. Endowment funds and donations helped the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula establish its art collection in the 1960s. Now under the Montage Health Foundation, it includes approximately 7,000 California landscape paintings, photographs, modern and abstract pieces, and more. With the late 2023 opening of Montage Health’s Ohana campus, a center for adolescent mental health programs, the collection will expand to include murals and street wear-inspired art. Art graces public areas, clinical spaces, staff facilities and even the hospital’s crisis stabilization unit. “Evidence-based research shows that this reduces anxiety for patients and for staff. After the last few pandemic years, we want to do anything we can to help create a soothing envi- ronment,” says Carrie Creasy, Montage Health community engagement officer. To learn more or to support the Montage Health art program, visit www.montagehealth.org . Local Health System Inspires Healing Through Ar t B Y R ENE E B R I NCK S SHORT CUTS HEALTH 76 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 3 Photo: Courtesy of Montage Health