A new initiative led by students of UCLA and Marymount High School in partnership with Drs. Mario Deng and Martin Cadeiras will help to comfort patients receiving heart failure treatment at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. Heal My HeART will establish an art therapy program that allows hospitalized patients to express their emotions creatively and reduce the emotional and physical strain of recovery.
Deng is professor of medicine and medical director of the Advanced Heart Failure, Mechanical Support and Heart Transplant Program at the medical center, and Cadeiras is an assistant professor of medicine.
"Patients spend such long periods of time in the hospital due to their heart disease," Deng said. "Providing our patients with an opportunity to express their emotions creatively would be invaluable to their mental and physical health."
Heal My HeART is crowdsourced profect raising funds through UCLA Spark. The initiative has already exceeded its initial $5,000 goal and is continuing to accept donations through May 30. More information on the project and donating can be found at UCLA Spark page.