The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center

The Louis Armstrong Music Therapy Department (musicandmedicine.org) was originally established and funded by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc. through Beth Israel’s Pediatric Division in 1994. The Music Therapy department expanded to include the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine in 2005 which hosts clinic and community work, treating those most in need within the community. Since 2013, the Department expanded its music therapy reach to serve patients throughout the Mount Sinai Health System. They currently have multiple programs including music therapy with both patients and their families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai East and West, the Surgical intensive Care Unit, Radiation Oncology, and Chemotherapy, with those who face addiction, and with patients who require mechanical ventilation. The Center’s numerous research projects are all co-investigated with doctors and nurses. Their most recent clinical trial is inclusive of Alzheimer’s patients. Their outpatient clinic serves the healthcare needs of at-risk babies and parents, children and teens on the spectrum including those with autism and pervasive developmental delays, children, and teens with asthma in the NYC public schools, and all those diagnosed with Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s and stroke patients in the community. The Center treats wellness- inclusive of musicians, performing artists and other young, teen, and adult patients who are prone to depression, overuse, focal dystonia and performance anxiety. The Department has a strong clinical training component and their faculty lecture globally and have assisted in the expansion of music therapy in hospitals and clinics across the world. Their research  lab is part of the Icahn School of Medicine (https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/loewylab) has been featured in medical and music journals and in the media, such as CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal and the NY Times.

Visit the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center Department website