The Well and UC Health Partner to Create Patient Wellness Channel

Providing Relief and Relaxation to UC Health’s Most Isolated Patients

In early 2020, Dr. Cotton partnered with Stacy Sims, founder and director of The Well to launch a custom version of The Well’s Mindful Music Moments program, a kind of mindful music therapy to associates, patients and caregivers at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute’s multiple sclerosis infusion suite and waiting rooms. The Mindful Music Moments program is accessible via the Mindful Music Partner Portal using a smartphone, tablet or desktop, and a secure log-in.

It was the interest expressed by patients that motivated efforts across numerous departments at UC Health to develop and implement the Mindful Music Moments program for those who are impacted by COVID-19 visitor restrictions.

In November 2020, the WLNS 102 channel launched at UC Medical Center. The channel is streamed through all inpatient rooms with televisions in the hospital, providing more than six hours of mindfulness-based content, which has been developed by The Well and UC Health with a number of local partners: the Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Zoo.

“WLNS 102 content provides patients mindful prompts to focus on breathing, pulse or their own imagination,” Stacy said. “The channel also features gorgeous, world-class music from Cincinnati organizations, gentle movement from integrative medicine practitioners and even Fiona, the Cincinnati Zoo’s celebrity hippo!”

Evidence-based research supports that by focusing on and practicing mindfulness techniques, patients can regulate and relax their own nervous systems.

“We know through decades of science that you can down-regulate your nervous system to improve things like cardiovascular health, cognitive and brain health, and even overall recovery time,” Dr. Cotton explained. “It’s then, when a patient begins to experience improved sleep, improved emotion regulation, less anxiety and stress.”

“Our healthcare system has been busier than ever managing the impact of the pandemic and keeping our community safe,” said Dr. Cotton. “But our extraordinary associates across numerous departments – from Information Technology & Security, Patient Safety and Patient Satisfaction – all recognized our patients’ needs for comfort and healing and quickly mobilized to create the WLNS channel.”