Humanities at the Heart of Health Care for Veterans

FAIN: GI-50018-08

Maine Humanities Council (Portland, ME 04102-1012)
Victoria B. Bonebakker (Project Director: January 2008 to September 2013)

Implementation of a reading and discussion series with venue staff training workshops using humanities literature to improve staff understanding of patients at 15 Veterans Administration hospitals in 10 states.

The Maine Humanities Council will offer Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care?, to staff at fifteen Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Centers through partnerships with 10 state humanities councils. This new national project will include two training institutes and a conference to lay the groundwork for effective programs in 15 VA hospitals. VA hospitals present the dedicated professionals who work there with one of the most challenging settings in health care. The humanities can make a significant difference in this setting, as we have have seen in the two VA hospitals where the program has been piloted. No NEH funds would be transferred to the department of Veterans Affairs or any of its facilities or staff..