Sanford Vermillion Medical Center (SVMC) is home to a number of arts in health initiatives; public art displays, site specific murals, rotating galleries and community centered sculptural projects like Chris Meyer’s “Assembly” sculpture to pay homage to the hand that current and former staff, patients, and community members have had in building the culture of the Dakota Hospital Foundation and SVMC campus. Aiming to further promote resident, patient and staff well-being through arts programming, funding from the Dakota Hospital Foundation in 2013 allowed SVMC to found Sanford Arts Vermillion (SAV) under the direction of Ari Albright, Arts Program Coordinator.
Volunteers and student interns act as art facilitators at SAV, utilizing a multi-modality approach, creating projects that explore visual arts, music, literary, contemplative and movement exercises, meeting participants at their individual need and interest level. According to the SAV website, arts programming, created with residents of Sanford’s long term care facility in mind, has continually supported positive changes at SVMC since the founding of SAV in 2013.
