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The courses, con-ceived of and created by Founding Director,Edie Elkan, build oneupon the other, muchlike the four classroommodules for the firstlevel of certification.These modules,though, delve moredeeply into topics andoffer participantshands-on experiences.For example, ModuleVII on ethics, a 12-week online course,has students work their way through ethicaldilemmas relevant totheir work in harptherapy. In addition toworking chapter-by-chapter in our text,

R e p o r t

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Program Notes 2–3Bedside Harp

Community Sounds 4Upcoming Events 5Administrators’ Corner 5Ad Libitum 6Encore! 7

THE BEDSIDE HARP

REPORTEdie Elkan, Founding Director Diana V. Nolan, Editor Neshaminy Medical Professional Center 4802 Neshaminy Boulevard, Suites 3–4Bensalem, PA 19020(PA) 215-752-7599; (NJ) 609-273-0068Facsimile: 215-752-0529

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T H E

Three New Mastery-Level ModulesReceive Rave Reviews

Mastery level candi-dates and graduatesalike were offered theopportunity to partici- pate in our three newmodules—Module VII:Conversations on Ethicsfor Harp Therapists;Module VIII: Conversa-tions on Research for Harp Therapists; andModule IX: Harp Ther-apy as a Mind BodyModality. All three werewell received by participants and perhaps asimportantly, weredeemed by them to beabsolutely essentialcourses for anyonewanting to deepen their knowledge and profes-sionalism.questions starting outlike, “What would youdo if...” and “Howmight you handle asituation in which...”got the ball rollingeach week. At thecourse’s end, studentsremarked, “this courseshould be required for every living human being,” and “Beforetaking this course, Inever realized all theissues I could encoun-ter.”The online courseon research, also 12weeks, progressedlogically from the eth-ics course, but fol-lowed a unique for-

Abington Memorial Hospital Approves Stroke Study

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e have just re-ceived word thatBedside Harp

’s pro- posed stroke study has been approved by theInstitutional ReviewBoard at Abington Me-morial Hospital inAbington, PA. As re- ported in the ResearchSupplement of

The Bedside Harp Report,

our research will ask,“Does the interventionof harp therapy in theearliest stages of astroke have a positiveimpact on a patient’sresidual effects?” Liveharp music, often ac-companied by voice,will be played at the bedside for a period of about an hour eachday, more often when-ever possible. Partici- pants will also be in-vited to play a 10-string lyre. The lyrewill be kept at the hospital for the partici- pant’s use throughouthis/her hospitalization.Our investigativeteam includes neu-rologist Dr.James M. Burke,Deborah Murphy,MSN, RN, ANP-BC Stroke Pro-gram Coordinator at Abington Me-morial Hospitaland Edie Elkan,MA, HCMHT,Founding Direc-

2009 MAY YTD

Number of patientsin our host hospitalswho received liveharp therapy ses-sions lasting five or more minutes837 3,578Number of hours of live harp therapydelivered to pa-tients, their lovedones, staff anddoctors at our hosthospitals182 908

tor of Bedside Harp.Bedside Harp internsand graduate harptherapists will deliver the music and encour-age participants tomake music them-selves on the lyres.We hope this exciting project will take harptherapy to new levels.

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THE BEDSIDE HARP

REPORT

mat. The first part of the course pre- pared students to take the NIH certifi-cation for researchers, which all par-ticipants accomplished in week sevenof the course. Students then used theremaining weeks to collaboratively prepare an actual harp therapy re-search proposal, including conduct-ing a formal literature review andwriting an informed consent. Thefeedback we received on this coursewas also enthusiastic. Everyone wasthrilled to have passed the NIH certi-fication and in awe over the amountof work and planning that goes intoevery formal research project beforethe clinical portion of the study cancommence.The weekend of June 13 and 14 brought mastery-level candidates andgraduates together for the first pres-entation of Module IX: Harp Therapyas Mind Body Medicine. This inten-sive 17-hour course explored themany possible applications of harptherapy not only in a medical setting, but also in other settings, and coupledwith other integrative therapies suchas guided meditation and yoga, aswell as in developing private one-on-one sessions. This evidence-basedcourse is based upon the specializedtraining Edie received from 2004through 2008 from Harvard Univer-sity Medical School’s Benson-HenryMind Body Institute in Boston, Mas-sachusetts. Our offering includedcoursework on meditation, guidedimagery, the relaxation response,empathy, cognitive restructuring,and, of course, a good amount of music. What seemed to strike par-ticipants particularly was how won-derful it was to work with the other therapies. One student commented,“I feel very encouraged that I canfind places other than healthcarefacilities to offer harp therapy.” Sev-eral others wrote that they were as-tounded to realize the power of posi-tive thinking and belief. This mod-ule, as all of our mastery level mod-ules, will be offered once a year. For further information and dates, pleasecall our office.

Bedside Harp

Now A Corporation

When Edie founded Bedside Harp

in February 2002, the lawyers sheconsulted advised her to establish itas a New Jersey Limited LiabilityCompany, because at the time it wasonly a one-person endeavor and theonly contract she had in hand waswith Robert Wood Johnson Univer-sity Hospital Hamilton, a New Jer-sey hospital. Now, nearly eightyears later, Bedside Harp has seen arather remarkable expansion withEdie still heading the organization, but with many others actively in-volved in all phases of its operation.Edie felt that it was clearly time torethink things. And so from now on,you will no longer see BedsideHarp, referred to as an LLC, butrather as a corporation—BedsideHarp, Inc. Nothing more haschanged—we’re ever dedicated to providing the highest quality pa-tient-centered hospital hosted pro-grams, to offering comprehensive,evidence-based training and certifi-cation, and to participating ingroundbreaking research.

Edie Elkan Speaks at the 18

AnnualRadiation Oncology Conference

The 18th Annual Radiation Oncol-ogy Conference for Nurses, Thera- pists and Dosimetrists is described,in its brochure, as “a national sym- posium providing state-of-the-artknowledge pertaining to currentand evolving treatment options for patients with cancer.” This year’ssessions included information fo-cusing on the entire trajectory of radiation treatment, multi-modalitymanagement of site specific can-cers, patient assessment, side ef-fects and quality improvement ini-tiatives and harp therapy. As she isalways wont to do, Edie opened her presentation with a harp therapy ses-sion, walking around the large con-ference room, playing gentle andhealing music. Participants smiled,some closed their eyes and breathedmore deeply, others just let the vi- brations wash over them. Edie thenspoke, presenting evidence-baseddata and punctuating each point witha poignant case history. All in atten-dance gave her a warm reception— one attendee came up to Edie at theclose of the session and announced:“Now I know why I traveled over 400 miles to come here—it was tohear your presentation!”

Bedside Harp

Spring 2009 class at BucksCounty CommunityCollege—from left toright: Graceanne Adamo, NancyOstroff, BetsyMacKenzie-Stubbs Kerry Huntington.

continues to make and repair harps, and currently makes hisliving from harps—playingmusic part-time in a church, performing and teaching, inaddition to the technical work.As our harp technician, Brianstresses the difference betweena harpmaker and a luthier. Aharpmaker may simply be acabinetmaker who has decidedto build a harp, whereas aluthier understands the sonic properties of the wood and thewood’s strength. He is a truecraftsman who understands thetonal qualities necessary for agood, strong, long-lasting harp.A luthier will have playedaround with different types of woodand studied literature to understandthose sonic properties. Brian rein-forces his own expertise by consult-ing with luthier Howard Bryant inLynchburg, VA who does major res-torations of antique harps.Brian comes to us from Manassas,VA where he lives and works. Inaddition to providing harp regulation

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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 2

Bedside Harp

’s 2009 GraduationCeremony will take place this year on Sunday, August 16 at the RobertWood Johnson University HospitalHamilton Center for Health andWellness. The ceremony will beginat 2:00

in Hamilton, NJ.This year’s graduates include Cer-tified Harp Therapists: Kathy Platt,Jim Sutherland, Jan Lucas, JaneOskutis, and Pat Stebbins. At theMastery Level, our new CertifiedMaster Harp Therapists will be DianePenchansky, Janet Zimmerly and PatCraig.This year, Diane Grillo of RWJUH Hamilton will be honoredwith our Bedside Harp Living Leg-end award for her work and supportof Bedside Harp’s program.

2009 GraduationCeremony Planned

DwightBlevins inColorado. Wehave 22-stringMaries instock, ready to pick up andtake home.Finally, asmentioned inan earlier newsletter, wehave 10-stringDavidic lyresmade byMarini in Lan-caster, PA. These will be used in our upcoming stroke study (see page 2).For information on pricing or tomake an appointment to visit our showroom, please call Shannon atour Bensalem office: 215-752-7599.

Harp Technician Provides Repairs and RegulationsBedside Harp Offering Floor Harps for Sale

Recently Bedside Harp

’s Ben-salem office was a hub of activitywith the arrival of our official harptechnician, Brian Stevenson. Brian,a certified harp therapist whograduated from our 2007 certifica-tion program, comes to BedsideHarp about four times a year to dorepairs, regulations and restringingof harps for Bedside Harp students,interns and graduates.Building harps has been a life-long activity for Brian who built hisfirst small harp with his father yearsago. His father was a woodworker all his life, and Brian had a passionfor music, talents they combined toconstruct that first harp. As Brianoutgrew his small harp, they made alarger one and continued to moveup in size until he was building, and playing professionally, a pedalharp.Brian studied music and receiveda performance degree in wood-winds from Shepard University. Hewent on to spend two years in aseminary where he received a de-gree in ministerial studies. But heCurrently in our showrooms, Bed-side Harp is offering a number of floor harps for sale, in addition tothe Marie therapy harps that have been available for some time.The floor harps in stock include aMarini Shalom floor harp, fully lev-ered with gold Truitt levers. The in-stock model is made of walnutwood, however the harp can be or-dered in a variety of woods.There are also two Blevins River-song models which also have 36strings and gold Truitt levers. TheRiversong offers a luscious tonequality and great portability. It canalso be ordered in a variety of woods; the ones in stock is made of mahogany and cherry.We also carry the Blevins 20-,22-, and 24-string Marie harps,made to Edie’s specifications byservices, he also presents a popu-lar segment during Module II of our Certification program onMyers-Briggs for Harp Thera- pists—self-discovery through thethe use of the Myers-Briggs per-sonality indicator. You can findout more about Brian’s scheduleand availability for repair work by calling our office.

During a recent visit to our offices, Brian restringsa harp for a Bedside Harp intern. Riversong 36-string floor harp