Lennar Center Partners with Lowe Art Museum to Improve Patient Outcomes

A group of 30 doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, imaging experts, pharmacists, and other professional health service providers from the Lennar Foundation Medical Center gathered at the Lowe Art Museum on the University of Miami Coral Gables campus on May 4 to fine-tune their critical skills of observation and communication — while looking at art.

Lennar Center caregivers view and discuss artworks at the Lowe Art Museum’s Fine Art of Health Care program.

The staff engagement activity stems from a partnership formed between the Lowe and the Lennar Center’s Human Experience initiatives to offer a comprehensive experience for their staff.

The Lowe’s Fine Art of Health Care program, launched in 2010, is based on a training methodology known as Visual Thinking Strategies that teaches participants to enhance their sensitivity, empathy, communication, and teamwork with the aim of improving patient outcomes. Working in small groups, participants attentively study what they see in a work of art, communicate it in the group, and discuss what their observations might mean — skills that are highly applicable in health care and many other fields.

“Participants are always surprised at what they discover beyond their initial impressions of what they see,” said Hope Torrents, director of the Fine Art of Health Care program. “Additionally, they learn to communicate about their observations with sensitivity and in collaboration with their peers, which can only benefit their patients.”

Previous participants in the workshops have recognized the similarities between exploring art and examining patients to make a diagnosis.

“The tendency is to have biases in medicine, and taking the time to look at works of art and listen to multiple ideas made me realize how important it is to slow down and step back,” said one.

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In addition to keenly exploring the Lowe’s works on view, the Lennar Foundation participants were treated to a drumming activity by percussionist Brandon Cruz, who led the group in an interactive rhythm exercise to reinforce active listening. Ultimately, the group experienced a radically different way to think about what they see, hear, and share, and how it can enhance their communication with one another and the services they provide to their patients.

Tags: Fine Art of Health Care, Hope Torrents, Lennar Foundation Medical Center, Lowe Art Museum, Miller School of Medicine, UHealth - the University of Miami Health System, University of Miami, Visual Thinking Strategies