A growing number of healthcare executives are expanding their view of population health — and in Detroit, that view now includes the arts.
This fall, the leadership of Henry Ford Health, Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University department of pediatrics joined with city officials, education leaders and cultural institutions to launch the Detroit Partnership for Arts Education, a cross-sector effort to restore and scale access to arts education for the city’s 100,000+ school-aged children. The initiative is spearheaded by Detroit Excellence in Youth Arts and backed by a broad coalition spanning healthcare, education, philanthropy, workforce development and the creative sector.
The premise is clear: investing in youth arts education is not only an educational or cultural imperative — it’s a healthcare strategy with long-term returns in emotional development, mental health and community vitality.
Why it matters for health systems
“At Henry Ford Health, we start with a belief that our role is to elevate the health of the communities we serve,” said Bob Riney, CEO of Henry Ford Health. “If you really think about the full meaning of elevating the health of the community, you have to be involved in more than just providing world class care; you have to focus on other environmental factors that have an impact on health.”
Mr. Riney said Detroit is building an innovative model that demonstrates what can happen when healthcare, schools, and grassroots organizations join forces to support our young people in arts education.
“In today’s world, where young people are increasingly living their life through technology, the importance of bringing people together to be creative is essential,” he said. “This forum can be a convener and aligner. We can help young people as they navigate their life, things that they think are narrow funnels are actually integrated. Someone with an interest in the arts may not have thought about a career in healthcare before, but now they can see there is a deeper connection they hadn’t realized before. Art and music are all deeply connected in health, and they might think of healthcare differently.”
A case for creative equity
Herman Gray, MD, who retired this summer as chair of Wayne State University department of pediatrics and formerly served as the CEO of United Way Southeastern Michigan and vice president of pediatrics for Detroit Medical Center, said his journey into arts advocacy began during his time in hospital leadership.
“I’m a pediatrician by training and have had over the last two-thirds of my career more administrative roles than clinical roles,” Dr. Gray said. “One of those roles included the president of Children’s Hospital Michigan in Detroit. This was when I really started to think about and act upon in meaningful ways, the importance of arts including music, dance and theater, in children’s lives.”
Creativity and the arts play an active role in treatment and recovery for pediatric patients as well. Many children undergoing treatment for life-threatening diseases or severe injuries need active engagement to help them cope with the physical and emotional challenges they’re going through. Creative expression can fill this gap.
“We have these kids under our care for some period of time. How can we do something that helps distract them from the pokes and needles and fear, uncertainty?,” said Dr. Gray. “How do we do something for kids who may never have seen real instruments or art hanging on walls?”
Dr. Gray took things a step further when it was time to remodel at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He involved the community. Rather than hiring designers, his team invited students from local schools to create the artwork that would hang in the hospital’s buildings.
“We figured that there were a few things we could do to make a difference in kids’ lives. Based on little to no data — this has been an area that was not investigated well — we took a leap of faith and built a large ambulatory center across the street from the hospital. Instead of hiring an artist to help us choose how to decorate the building, we engaged local schools and asked the kids to help decorate the children’s hospital building,” he said.
Dr. Gray now serves as a volunteer advisor to DPAE. “I’m a pretty values-driven guy, anything we can do to improve children’s education in the city of Detroit in particular is something I wanted to be a part of.”
Strategic investment in cross-sector impact
DPAE’s backers believe Detroit’s model could serve as a blueprint for other cities navigating the intersection of education, healthcare and community health.
“Having a strong, creative economy is one of the marks of successful large cities,” said Dr. Gray. “People want to go to the places where they can feel the hipster vibes, and most of that depends on the arts. Healthcare is just one of the major economic sectors involved because leaders in healthcare have a straightforward vision. People don’t always understand the importance of creativity and what it can do to uplift the community. To attract people to cities, you need more than the assembly line or industrial work.”
Mr. Riney agreed.
“We can have the best healthcare, but if we don’t have healthy food, people are going to be compromised. If we don’t have an outlet for creativity and expression, and teach people to play well in the sandbox together, they are going to be limited,” he said. “Helping people understand the multiplier for the arts will have a more positive impact on the future. Once people believe that, they jump onboard and it’s a mission they want to get behind. I can see the outcome of healthy children becoming the future of the community as healthy adults.”
The arts involvement also has an impact on the broader workforce and culture. Mr. Riney said his team feels pride in the arts investment back in the community; they want to make a positive impact on the community.
“It’s hard to find time for this, but when done correctly, your culture will improve. People will not only applaud these efforts, but will want to join in,” he said. “Detroit historically was known as one of the great art and music regions, so it’s only fitting that we lead this next iteration.”
Click here to read the report: “Detroit Partnership for Arts Education: A vision for Arts Education in Detroit.”
