Music becomes medicine for patients at Baylor hospital

Some patients at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas are receiving some relaxing melodies along with their medicine.

The hospital says it's music practitioners are helping patients reduce stress while increasing their overall outlook.

When music becomes medicine, Terri Williams, who has been hospitalized 5 weeks now, wants a huge dose from pianist Tony Arant.

"For them to provide someone to come to your room and give you a private concert, it just makes you feel so good,” Williams said.

And the same for liver transplant recipient, Jacquelyn Spencer, as she listened to Mary Lebus play the harp.

"It's really amazing,” Spencer said. “I think I kind of almost take it for granted to have such huge talent."

It's the 'Arts in Medicine' program at Baylor University Medical Center, music practitioners like Lebus and Arant offer a therapy that compliments traditional treatments for seriously ill patients.

"We play for patients in ICU. We play for end-of-life situations, cancer patients, general care patients, patients with different types of dementia,” explained Arant. “So there's a song list in my head for each of those situations."

Christmas music was in big demand this week as they went room to room, always realizing each patient is unique.

"Sometimes people say, ‘I don't want music. No thank you,’” Lebus said. “And I realize that can be empowering for patients too because there's so little you can actually say no to."