Veteran’s Day and the Importance of Music

Veteran’s Day and the importance of music

Veteran’s Day is SUCH an important holiday and observance for the USA. The men and women who have fought and labored in many other way for the peace and prosperity that our country enjoys, deserve to be honored on this important day.

Music has always played an important roll in the military and every branch of the military to this day has their own band, orchestra, chorus and smaller specialty groups like jazz bands, Big Band style bands and even classical chamber music ensembles.

The Robley Rex V.A. hospital here in Louisville, KY has a brass band ensemble composed of various surgeons, and physicians at that hospital. They play at parties, graduations and other functions and call themselves Top Brass. I think this is so clever and they really enjoy getting out of their medical scrubs and entertaining both colleagues and patients.

The Birth of Music Therapy

The modern-day field of Music Therapy actually began in a Veteran’s hospital in Kansas. It was toward the end of WWII, late 40’s, and in this Veteran’s hospital were many men suffering from what was called “shell shock” or “battle fatigue.” Today, these same men might be diagnosed with major depression or PTSD.

Each week, volunteers of various kinds would come to visit the men and try to engage them in calming, social interaction. Apparently the only volunteers that were successful with the Veterans were the musicians who came with Big Band music ensembles and played the music that brought back very positive memories of a happier time.

This behavior did not go unnoticed. When the musicians would come, men who never raised their heads or their eyes, would raise their hands, looks toward the musicians, sometimes smile, and sometimes would even sing along, or sway to the music!  The nurses and doctors were astounded by this phenomenon but it happened weekly and was a dependable moment of healing and progress for the veterans.

With a few years, there was a new rehabilitation specialy in medicine; it was called Music Therapy!

Veteran’s Hospitals and Surgical Serenity Solutions team up to help Veterans

In 2014 Veterans Hospitals began doing business with Surgical Serenity Solutions.  Our first product purchased by the hospitals was our preloaded headphones for surgical patients. Our first hospital VA customer purchased 100 of these headphones, loaded with the Classical Playlist. The patients understood that this music engaged rhythmic entrainment better than other music they might have thought they preferred such as popular music or country music. We educated patients and staff about the fact that purely instrumental music with a slow, steady pulse works best to get the patient through surgery with the least anxiety and least amount of pain perception.

Ten years later, in 2024, Surgical Serenity Solutions has gotten into Veterans Hospitals around the country. We now have 5 distinct playlists and 4 paths to provide our music to hospitals, surgery centers, birthing centers, chemotherapy, dialysis centers and pain clinics. Our playlists include Classical, Jazz, New Age, Lullabies, and Memory Care.

Patients can access our music  with the original preloaded headphones, small MP3 players, downloadable apps, or each playlist can be licensed for a one-time annual fee.

A personal note

Every year when Veteran’s Day comes around I remember my dear father and how much our country meant to him. Although he survived WWII and the Battle of the Bulge, he was wounded and had a long and difficult recovery in the hospital in London.

Music was one the things that got him through, I think, and he loved teaching his children the songs that they sang while marching through Europe. We children loved hearing about his adventures and learning the songs they sang like “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” and “A Capital Ship.” I later learned that one of the reasons that soldiers sing while they march is because it keeps their energy level high and helps them to march in sync for very long distances.

My great-grandfather, James Grier White

Because my dear father, and my great-grandfather on his mother’s side were proud veterans and because of all the work we do with V.A. hospitals around the country, veterans will always have a special place in my heart.

How to get our Surgical Serenity Solutions music and products into YOUR hospital or clinic.

If you’re not sure which products might be best for your patient populations, please fill out this form

www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us

To see all of the hospital products go to

www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/hospitalheadphones

www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/mp3players

To download one or more of our playlists and hear samples of each, go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/calm

To all the living Veterans, thank you for your service!! To all the fallen warriors, thank you for paying the ultimate price for our freedom!!