ABSTRACT
As the field of arts in healthcare expands, there is a growing need for professionalization of arts programs in healthcare settings. Arts in healthcare programs have professionalized to a point where they increasingly require strong leadership and management, and an ever-increasing demand exists for trained specialists to manage organizational policies and practices involving activities such as visual art exhibits, in-hospital performances, bedside art activities, and arts activities for medical staff. In fact, survey findings published several years ago revealed that approximately half of the accredited healthcare institutions in the United States offer arts programs (State of the Field Committee, 2009). In addition, as hospitals and healthcare centers increasingly become engaged in their communities as sites devoted to advancing quality of life, arts programming broadens beyond the immediate institutional walls. It may be inferred that healthcare environments will continue to become part of the fabric of community arts and culture engagement. The demand for professional administrators in the arts in healthcare field will continue to grow, especially as the aging baby boomer population increasingly demands high quality healthcare services. This chapter provides an overview of the arts in healthcare field in the United States, and introduces Managing Arts Programs in Healthcare .
