Hospital Programs
We bring creative, messy fun into places that are sterile by necessity! CHAP teaching artists provide over 25 hours of free onsite art-making per week across hospital partners including OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Shriners Children’s Portland, and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Every CHAP art interaction is tailored to the needs, wishes, and abilities of each child, bringing them out of isolation and infusing their lives with choice, purpose, and self-expression.
Our teaching artists have developed a wide variety of creative activities using hospital-approved materials for kids and teens who are immune-suppressed, while adaptive brushes and other tools are incorporated for those with dexterity issues. If a child is in isolation or not well enough to leave their hospital bed, CHAP artists deliver art supplies to their room to enjoy art-making together.
When children are discharged from the hospital, they are invited to participate in our weekly Art Club in the CHAP Art Studio – allowing them to continue their creative journey, meet new friends, and build community.
“CHAP presents a global impact within the hospital environment. Nurses and other staff continue to comment on the positive influences they see on a weekly basis. Often the parents are involved in the art creations as well and the healing process of kids and their parents/caregivers, side by side, focusing on something other than medical cares is quite evident. You can see their burdens ease as they are offered a change of scenery and the opportunity to express themselves.”
- Susan E. Sherwood, Child Life Specialist at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital