News and Insights
How One Foundation is Transforming Pediatric Hospital Stays through Creative Expression
November 15, 2024
In this interview, FINN Partners Associate Vice President and founder of AUGUST’S ARTISTS, Erica Olenski, discusses how art is becoming a powerful tool for validating pediatric patients’ hospital experiences while supporting trauma recovery and family-centered care. In 2019, Erica’s then five-month-old son August was diagnosed with a brain tumor. During his many hospitalizations, Erica began the practice of drawing with crayons on the windows of August’s hospital rooms. These drawings depicted August’s favorite characters. Other parents began asking Erica to draw favorite characters on their children’s hospital room windows as well. Members of the clinical team began to ask for them too and, eventually, August’s Artists was born.
Q: How has your experience with AUGUST’S ARTISTS informed your view on the role of creativity and emotional support in the patient’s experience?
A: We’re validating the experiences that happen in hospital settings. That’s the true value. It’s not just about being distracted by art, though that’s therapeutic in itself. We need to validate that what happened was real. It’s formative to our personal journeys in this lifetime. This art becomes a fixture in our minds. We remember, “Oh my gosh, I had Cookie Monster on my window.” That’s the thing they remember, because everything else is so sterile.
We preserve that artwork in meaningful ways. We turn it into clipart images, remove backgrounds, clean them up, and then they can be used on posters, T-shirts, blankets – anywhere, really. Maybe families collect artwork from their entire hospital journey for a blanket or use it for a T-shirt campaign or GoFundMovere. That’s what AUGUST’S ARTISTS is: ensuring everyone has access to tools for making artwork and creating a program that honors and commemorates the artwork in functional, valuable ways.
Q: What unique challenges have you faced in advocating for family-centered, holistic care?
A: One major deficit I see in patient engagement initiatives is that they’re seeking to build connection with somebody who is physically incapable of building that connection. The patient can’t connect because their brain won’t give them space – they’re in fight or flight mode. These initiatives aren’t going to work because they aren’t taking a trauma-informed approach.
Financial toxicity also plays a huge role. When we’re feeling threatened, with the potential for losing our home, for example, we’re not able to have full executive function or think critically. Taking a trauma-informed approach allows us to think more clearly about outcomes. Are we just being reactive, or are we asking, what’s the goal? Is it to have the best quality of life? That might mean taking the vacation now and not five years from now.
Q: Can you share some memorable stories where artwork became transformative for patients?
A: There was a little boy who had to be “nothing by mouth” for about two weeks before a procedure. He kept saying that as soon as he got the procedure done, he was going to eat cookies. So, one night, I drew Cookie Monster on his window. When he woke up, it became his goal: just get through these two weeks and then cookies!
In another instance, a mother whose daughter was getting chemotherapy was practically living in the hospital room, and there was a sibling too. They wanted a unicorn, so overnight, I created one on their window. They cherished that unicorn. On another stay, I drew a dragon that stayed up for over a year. It’s a testament to what people value in those spaces – if it wasn’t valuable, it wouldn’t stay there.
Q: What’s your vision for AUGUST’S ARTISTS’ future?
A: Our goal is to be available in every pediatric hospital across the country. We have three pillars: coloring, happiness, and healing. It’s about bringing joy in the moment while being a functional tool for trauma recovery. We’re exploring becoming our own window crayon vendor and creating a fundraising platform. We’d love to have celebrity artists engaged.
We’re also doing significant advocacy work. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with the Wall Street Journal and Good Morning America about the financial toxicity of pediatric cancer diagnoses. I’m meeting with senators about expanding Medicaid access, which is crucial – between last year and this, our own medical costs will probably reach around $1.5 million, with much of that being private duty nursing not covered by private insurance.
The program is very replicable and scalable. We include clinical teams and caregivers as stakeholders we serve, not discriminating around who makes commemoration requests. We’re even exploring potential at the other end of life, with older communities. It could become a sister organization rooted in the same mission and vision.
The way we validate experiences after trauma is incredibly important. Through art and commemoration, we’re saying to the world, “I was here, this happened, it was real.” That validation, combined with practical support and advocacy, can transform how we approach pediatric healthcare.
POSTED BY: Lisa Heathman
