Healing Arts Program
Providing the very best patient care means treating more than just physical symptoms. The Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program addresses the emotional needs of patients and families by integrating literary, performing and visual art experiences into the healing process.
About
The Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program offers a variety of experiences for patients, visitors and staff focused on improving health. In general, healing arts programs have been shown to:
- Shorten post-operative recovery and hospital stays
- Raise pain thresholds and reduce need for pain medications
- Improve mood
- Lower blood pressure and heart rate
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Enhance sleep patterns, alertness, and growth in newborns
We want to hear from you! Share feedback on our resources here.
Give a gift to help support initiatives of the Dr. Robert L. A. Keeley Healing Arts Program.
Programs
Learn about the various offerings through the program, made available locally through generous contributions and volunteer efforts of talented individuals. If you have an idea for an initiative or are interested in supporting the Dr. Robert L. A. Keeley Healing Arts Program, please email healingarts@carilionclinic.org.
Artists-in-Residence Program
Local, talented artists provide art activities for patients, demonstrations in waiting areas and workshops for staff. Learn more about our resource artists.
Healing Arts Art Kit Demonstrations
Modeling Clay Kit Demonstrations
Healer's Circle Kit Demonstrations
More Virtual Experiences
Healing Arts Performances and Experiences
The Taubman Museum of Art: Artwork and Exhibit Spotlights
Art Cart
At Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, an art cart offers patients, families and staff the option to engage in a variety of creative activities such as journaling, coloring and painting. The cart was created and donated to the Healing Arts Program by Black Dog Salvage and is co-managed by Volunteer Services.
Windows Relaxation Channel
Captivating nature videos and healing music are offered to provide relaxation at CRMH, accessed through the GetWellNetwork.
The Burden Boat Sculpture
Located in the lobby atrium at CRMH, the Burden Boat is an interactive piece of art, inviting patients, visitors, staff and volunteers to write their burdens on note paper and place them in the hull of the boat for future ceremonial release.
Healing Arts Program Galleries
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, 3rd Floor South Pavilion corridor (outside of the cafeteria). View a rotational photo gallery displaying images from Cristin Kovacs.
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital 4th Floor East Pavilion corridor. We are currently displaying several paintings by Joli Ayn Wood.
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital 6th Floor Auditorium, Ethel E. Walshe Gallery. See Burton Center for Visual Arts student artwork displayed in this location.
- Carilion Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, 1st Floor, North side of the building. View an art display along with framed healing poetry.
Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Garden
In partnership with the City of Roanoke, we created the Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Garden on the Roanoke River Greenway near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH). The healing garden provides a relaxing atmosphere for patients, visitors and staff to sit or swing and enjoy fragrant plants and the soothing sound of moving water.
Labyrinth
A labyrinth located in the Riverside Center near the parking deck provides a meditative path to walk, invoking creativity and relaxation. Walking the Labyrinth can be used to clear the mind, calm anxieties during periods of transition and stress, guide healing, deepen self-knowledge, improve creativity, restore feelings of connection, and promote personal and spiritual growth.
Give a gift to help support initiatives of the Dr. Robert L. A. Keeley Healing Arts Program.
Community Partnerships
The Keeley Healing Arts Program collaborates with many local organizations and other Carilion departments to provide community members with spaces and opportunities for healing.
Healing Ceiling Tiles
To provide comfort and healing in a clinical environment, the Taubman Museum of Art's "Healing Ceiling Tiles: A Community Project" places joyful, whimsical, hand-painted ceiling tiles throughout our patient treatment areas. Hundreds of caring community members have contributed their time and talents to create more than 1,000 ceiling tiles that serve as calming diversions at Carilion facilities.
Interested in organizing a group to paint ceiling tiles? Contact Laura Moats at lmoats@taubmanmuseum.org.
Project Legacy Shawls
Project Legacy is a program that collects knitted, crocheted or woven shawls and blankets for patients undergoing end of life care at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. These "Legacy Shawls" provide palliative care patients with warmth, compassion and comfort.
For more information about this project, email Diane Stavola at dstavola70@gmail.com or visit Project Legacy's Facebook or Instagram.
Wellness on Melrose
We offer experiences and space at Wellness on Melrose to get creative through literary, visual and performing arts.
Open Art Studios
Drop-In Hours:
Tuesdays, 4 – 7 p.m.
Thursdays, 9 a.m. – noon
Get creative in our free, self-guided art studio! Drop in any time during open hours to work on your own project or get inspiration from a resource artist. Use our supplies or bring your own. Take part in painting, drawing, communal art projects or using clay, fabric and collage. All artistic levels welcome!
Featured Artists:
- Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 25: Lynn Donihe, community quilting
- Nov. 13: Signe Overby, collage composition
- Nov. 20: Michele Walter, watercolor
- Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30: Lynn Donihe, community quilting
- Dec. 4 and 11: Michele Walter, winter watercolors
- Dec. 18: Signe Overby, holiday sticker-making
Rotating Art Exhibits
Check out our art gallery featuring local artists. Stay tuned for community calls for art!
Morningside Urban Farm
Morningside Urban Farm in southeast Roanoke is a unique and powerful gathering space that brings people together and supports physical and mental wellness. We partner with Community Health and Outreach to offer free healing art workshops and experiences for the community.
Resource Artists
A resource artist is a local artist who provides art activities for patients, demonstrations in waiting areas and workshops for staff.
Lynn Donihe
Artistry: Mixed Media, Fabric Arts and Mosaics
Morningside Urban Farm
Matthew Mosley
Artistry: Spoken Word, Poetry and Painting
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Michele Walter
Artistry: Watercolor and Acrylic Painting
Carilion Employee Wellness
Questions?
Email Lisa Linger, Healing Arts Program Manager, at lmlinger@carilionclinic.org.
Become a Resource Artist
Call for Resource Artists-In-Residence
We're not currently accepting applications for artists-in-residence. Check back here for information on our next cycle!
Project Artists
A project artist is a local artist who focuses on one Keeley Healing Arts Program initiative.
Catherine Backus
Artistry: Music and Songwriting
Catherine leads a monthly Brain Injury Arts Group that helps traumatic brain injury or stroke survivors, caregivers and family members connect, share and heal together. She uses music, movement, poetry and visual art to encourage emotional expression, reduce stress and promote well-being.
This group meets in-person and virtually. Join us!
In-Person
First Wednesday of each month
Noon – 1 p.m.
Carilion Clinic's Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences
2331 Franklin Road SW, Roanoke, VA 24014
Conference room 5, Level 2
Virtual
Third Wednesdays of each month
Noon – 1 p.m.
To register, visit our event calendar and search "Brain Injury."
For questions, contact Lisa Linger, Keeley Healing Arts Program manager, at lmlinger@carilionclinic.org. Class participation is free.
Committee Members
Special thanks to the committee members for their dedication to the Healing Arts Program:
- Lisa Santiago Linger, Healing Arts Program Manager at Carilion Clinic
- Angela Charlton, RDN, Community Health Educator and Urban Farm Coordinator at Carilion Clinic
- David Crane, Executive Director for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
- Mark Greenawald, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Professional Development at Carilion Clinic Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Susan Jennings, former Arts and Culture Coordinator for the City of Roanoke
- Dan Keeley, Director of Music Ministries at Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church
- Cindy Petersen, Executive Director at Taubman Museum of Art
- Shanna Flowers, Director of Guest and Volunteer Services at Carilion Clinic
- Tahitia Woods, MSN, Palliative Unit, Oncology, PCU at Carilion Clinic Roanoke Memorial Hospital; Roanoke City Artist-in-Residence in Collective African Dance
- Aaron Boush, Director, Community Health and Development at Carilion Clinic
- Ben Jewell-Plocher, Associate Director of Engagement for the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech
- E.B. Smith, Executive Director, Harrison Museum of African American Culture
In the News
March 5, 2025
Tab's Tune Time
Music is a powerful healer. 🎶💖 Our Healing Arts Program honors the memory of a special NICU nurse practitioner who touched countless lives with her ukulele and songs. She brought comfort and joy to our tiniest patients and their families, and now we continue her legacy with the creation of Tabitha's Tune Time, providing that same healing music to brighten their days.
October 15, 2024
Carilion Healing Arts Program helps patients beyond their prescribed treatment
The Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program at Carilion Clinic has been shown to shorten post-operative recovery and hospital stays, raise pain thresholds and reduce need for pain medications, improve mood, lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduce stress and anxiety and enhance sleep patterns, alertness, and growth in newborns. Michele Walter, an artist with the Carilion Clinic Keeley Healing Arts, joined Here @ Home to talk about the many benefits.
December 21, 2020
The Southwest Virginia Ballet and Blue Ridge PBS Partner with Carilion
Incorporating the arts in patient care offers a healing connection and has even been shown to improve health outcomes. Partners, Southwest Virginia Ballet and Blue Ridge PBS, make this possible, especially during this pandemic.
January 31, 2019
Arts for Healing Gala
Congratulations to Clifford A. (Kipper) Nottingham, M.D., who received the Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Award for his exceptional service to patients and to the community.
January 8, 2019
Patient Art Show Awards Reception
Winners of the 2018 patient art show were announced at a reception in the lobby of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital at 5:30 p.m. Winners received cash prizes totaling almost $4,000. We invite you to join us as we celebrate all participants and winners.
October 24, 2018
Burden Boat Ceremony
A ceremonial release of handwritten burdens was held on October 24, 2018.
The Burden Boat is an interactive work of art designed to help people release their burdens. The sculpture is on display in the atrium area of the lobby at CRMH, and the public is invited to write down their burdens and place them in the boat.
The Burden Boat, created by artist Kurt Steger, was acquired with contributions made to The Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program.
May 22, 2018
Annual Employee Art Show Awards Reception
Winners of the 2017 employee art show were announced at a reception in the lobby of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Winners received cash prizes totaling almost $4,000.
May 23, 2017
Annual Employee Art Show Awards Reception
Winners of the 2017 employee art show were announced at a reception in the lobby of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Winners received cash prizes totaling almost $4,000.
December 19, 2016
Representatives from Our Lady Nazareth Catholic Church in Roanoke, Va. made a $5,000 donation to the Carilion Clinic Foundation. The money was raised though the church’s Christmas program, “The Story of Mark,” which is an initiative of their Logos Theatricus Productions, Inc.
Making this donation even more special, the money will go toward the Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Arts Program, which integrates literary, performing and visual art experience into the healing process. The program is named in honor of the church’s Director or Music Ministries’ (Dan Keeley) father.
November 29, 2016
Winners of Inaugural Patient Art Show are Celebrated
The awards for Carilion Clinic's Inaugural Patient Art Show were announced at a reception for the artists on Nov. 29, 2016.
Online Art Gallery
National Poetry Month 2024
Selected poems for Healing Arts Program materials written by Carilion employees and patients
