ABSTRACT
Group arts experiences routinely occur in many hospital settings. However, increasingly today’s hospital artists-in-residence (AIRs) are finding that to meet the needs of their patient population, a greater percentage of their time is being spent conducting activities directly at the bedside. On average, hospitalized patients are sicker than they were even a few decades ago. Patients are hospitalized now primarily for complicated conditions; some of these individuals might not have survived in the past. Although some patients are treated in ward settings, the trend resulting from this high level of illness acuity coupled with a valid concern for infection control is the lone patient in the single-occupancy room.
