Documentary premieres March 29 at 8:00 p.m. on WHYY TV12

Aaron Deede of Wilmington, Del., will appear in the new WHYY production, “Circle of Care: The Arts in Medicine,” on Wednesday, March 29 at 8 p.m. on WHYY T-12.  The half-hour documentary explores how the creative arts are used to aid communication in healing and healthcare.  Deede of Wilmington, Del., who is paralyzed from the waist down and cognitively impaired as the result of an automobile accident, is a member of the Magee Players, a theatre group comprised of individuals with disabilities at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. Magee’s Theatre Arts Program, in its sixth year, encourages individuals with physical and/or cognitive disabilities to participate in the artistic community and provides them with resources to reach their maximum potential in the arts.
 
Deede has participated in several semesters of the 12-week classes at the Hospital. The program invites patients with disabilities who enjoy acting and the theater to study mime and performing arts with masks and live music. They have displayed their newfound understanding of theatre arts by performing a series of short, one-act plays before an audience of Magee patients, visitors, and staff. They also incorporated their own original art design and unique sets in these performances.  For more information about Magee’s Theater Arts program, call (215) 587-3063.

WHYY’s “Circle of Care: The Arts in Medicine,” will be followed at 8:30 p.m. by a live, one-hour discussion with leading local experts, documentary subjects, and a live studio audience on the role of arts and humanities in medicine. Television viewers can also participate in the conversation by e-mailing their questions and comments during the program to widerhorizons@whyy.org. At 9:30 p.m., WHYY will present the PBS special The New Medicine about integrative medicine, hosted by the late Dana Reeve.

“Circle of Care” visits hospitals, rehabilitation centers and adult residential communities throughout the Greater Philadelphia region to intimately witness the process of expressing and communicating through music, dance, painting, theater and poetry.

Other stories profiled during CIRCLE OF CARE include the use of music to teach language; treating the whole patient through a team approach that includes an art therapist; a painting class for cancer patients and survivors to express their emotions and enhance care; storytelling as an avenue of communication among residents of an assisted living facility; and the benefits of journaling and writing for healthcare professionals.

CIRCLE OF CARE is a production of WHYY Wider Horizons, a multimedia initiative addressing the needs and interests of the growing population approaching or in the “second half” of life, working with the Caring Community, WHYY’s volunteer coalition of more than 100 local civic and healthcare organizations.