New Novant Health programs emphasize health care and the arts around Charlotte
As an artist, Shefalee Patel is passionate about dancing and making paintings inspired by her Indian culture. And art was also like medicine for the cancer patient’s healing journey.
Along with other patients, Patel is looking forward to Novant Health’s “Art of Remarkable Care” initiative that will be unveiled Wednesday. Local artists will work with patients, employees, caregivers and community members to get involved with the arts for their well-being. The initial cost of the project is $500,000.
“Art is powerful and can really inspire healing, provide comfort, and it does foster connections to others,” said Dr. Sid Fletcher, Novant senior vice president and president of the Charlotte region in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. “An unexpected moment of joy in an otherwise difficult time can really be transformational.
“We believe this will contribute to better experiences from people and also improved outcomes.”
In 2022, Patel was diagnosed with uterine lining cancer and underwent a hysterectomy surgery. Her ovaries and uterus were removed during the procedure. She also received acupuncture treatment for hot flashes.
Her art helps her refocus.
“When I’m painting, I feel this sense of calm and direct connection to what I’m doing,” Patel said about her meditation and spiritual process. “My mom always used to say art is also like praying. You don’t have to pray with just your hands together. But you can also pray when you create something.”
Dr. Jeff Hardin, lead physician for integrative medicine at Novant, connects patients to therapists, dietitians and in this case, art projects, to express their pain and suffering. A cancer diagnosis also involves grappling with the unknown.
“It’s kind of like your whole life flashes before you,” Hardin said, referring to talks with patients. “Suddenly everything changes, and it can be very fear provoking, it can be very isolating and lonely. And I think art can help with that. It’s a form of connection. It kind of brings us outside of our small worries and gives us this bigger context where we can express ourselves.”
Studies have shown exposure to art can help lessen chronic pain, stress and anxiety for patients like Patel. That includes consistent interaction with music, which can have a positive impact on immune system responses, according to the American Journal of Public Health.
“When you think about our hormones, that controls much of our engagement (such as the release of oxytocin),” Fletcher said. “That’s sort of the love hormone, the thing that gives people that feeling of well-being.”
And engaging in the the arts is a better alternative than scrolling on social media, Fletcher said about what neuroscientists call the default mode network — or areas of the brain talking to each other during resting periods.
“When you think about other things that we do, social media for example, you’re not in the default mode network,” Fletcher said. “Those areas of the brain are not communicating with each other and that ability to have rest in the brain is not there. So you can imagine that that’s contributing to stress, anxiety and other things like that.”
Fletcher is a big music guy and a member of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra board. Music is a stress reliever for him.
“It’s just a time where I truly can decompress and I am not thinking about all the other things that you know most people are thinking about, what already happened, or what’s going to happen,” Fletcher said. “It just allows me to sort of be in the moment.”
Novant’s new ‘prescription’ for art at the Bechtler
Novant is also starting a new program in partnership with the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art for loneliness and social isolation. The Charlotte Art on Prescription initiative, which was announced Wednesday, will provide one year of free access to art programming and culture experiences to participants referred by Novant.
The program is a response to a 2023 report from the U.S. Surgeon General, according to a news release from the museum. It said that 50% of adults experience high levels of loneliness.
Healthcare professionals will prescribe art engagement for patients to make connections to people. Participants recommended by Novant will have access to museums, live performances and art classes.
Molly Phillips, the museum’s assistant director for education, developed the program and will lead the efforts. The “prescription” program joins other education and community engagement events at the museum such as a pre-K and creative aging art programs.
Getting the word out about art and Novant
Charlotte is Creative is collaborating with Novant in the upcoming months for visual and performance arts. Some of the plans from the nonprofit include art therapy, murals and wall art from local artists, community-based events and activities for patients.
“I’m so excited that they’re getting into this and kind of consolidating all of their efforts together,” Patel said about Novant’s efforts in the arts.
Kristen Howard, Novant’s vice president of corporate affairs, is looking forward to it too. “We wanted to make sure that we had an agency that could get the word out effectively within the arts community,” said Howard about working with Charlotte is Creative.
The program is one of several initiatives from Novant to support the arts. Others include:
▪ Ongoing financial support for The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture
▪ Providing health care services for Charlotte Ballet
▪ Supporting the Charlotte Symphony’s Summer Pops series
▪ Supporting a concert at the Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic - North End
More about the Arts in Health program
Novant’s foundation funds the Arts in Health program, which serves patients at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital and the Novant Health Cancer Institute.
Novant is starting the program at several centers in Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, including Ballantyne Medical Center, Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, Huntersville Medical Center, Matthews Medical Center, Mint Hill Medical Center, Health Presbyterian Medical Center and Rowan Medical Center.
Howard said the initiative is a way to expand on Novant’s commitment to the arts.
“All of us have probably cried in a movie theater, at a play, at a vocal performance,” Howard said. “There’s that emotive side and that unlocking internally, that art can do. And even beyond the research and the data, there is just this power in engaging in this creative space for all of us that is deeply meaningful.”
Patel is donating her painting “Branching Out Into Good Vibes” to the Ballantyne center. It has some henna intertwined in a tree. She hopes it makes visitors and patients feel better.
“Walking into the hallway and looking at an art piece it kind of distracts you from what’s going on or helps you focus on something else,” she said. “You get to see something brighter.”
About Novant Health
Novant is the second-largest health care provider in the region, behind Charlotte-based Atrium Health. The network headquartered in Winston-Salem has more than 900 locations, including 19 hospitals, 750 physician clinics, urgent care centers, outpatient facilities and imaging services.
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This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 11:00 AM.
