The gray plastic cart that cheerful volunteer Rosemary Capotosto pushes through the halls of Summa Akron City Hospital comes up to about her waist, but it’s not heavy.
It’s laden with 178 neatly stacked 5-by-7 framed artworka created by students at Akron’s Ritzman and King elementary schools. The children used markers and watercolors to create the pieces that are in brushed silver frames that are lighter than they look.
Capotosto, who started volunteering at the hospital in March, has a new job. Thursday was the debut of Summa’s art cart program, in which students create art pieces for distribution to patients to display in their rooms.
Patients may take the pieces home to keep when they leave. Each artwork includes information about the student on the back: their first name, age, school they attend, their favorite color and the name of their artwork.
Students were asked to stick to soothing themes of animals, nature and landscapes. Each student gets a thank-you note from Summa.
“Children … like to make something for somebody — whether it was because ‘they weren’t feeling good, I want to make them a get well card, I want to make this for my mommy, because I love her,’ especially when it’s for somebody else I think children put their best into it,” said Capotosto, who was an educator for 34 years.
Capotosto gave away a few pieces of the art Thursday morning on the oncology floor and received a lot of positive comments. This first batch is from Ritzman students. Next week, Summa will receive art from King. Volunteers had a framing party to assemble everything.
“The response from patients has been amazing,” said Angela Smith, Summa’s volunteer services director.
One patient’s visitor said she thought it brought a spot of cheer to the room, Capotosto said.
“One lady was all excited because she lives on a farm and has cattle, so she took a picture of one of the pigs,” she said. “Another one, she likes butterflies, and it was mostly pink — she’s a breast cancer survivor — so she took that.”
Another patient didn’t want to take one because he wanted others to have them, Capotosto said.
She takes about five or six samples into the room for a patient to choose.
Back on the oncology floor Thursday afternoon, patient Gabriella Altomare, 24, of Akron chose a picture of a panda. Turns out she was a former student of Capotosto’s at St. Paul Catholic School.
“It’s really cute,” Altomare said, adding that she liked that the panda is black and white and has a rainbow behind it.
“It’s really nice of the kids to be doing this for people and thinking of other people,” she said. “It puts good morals in kids because they know there are other things going on in the world that they may not know about … helping other people.”
On the maternity floor, secretary Rebecca Bolte was surprised to see the cart.
“That is so neat!” she said. “I like that. That will make people happy.”
New mom Elizabeth Schwenning, 29, of Barberton, was cradling her 1-day-old daughter, Eleanor, in her bed, when Capotosto came in to show her a selection of art.
“OK, that’s the one,” Schwenning said upon seeing the first one. She chose a panda.
“I don’t even have to show you the rest, do I?” Capotosto said. “Obviously, you’re a panda fan.”
“Yes, I’m a panda fan,” Schwenning said. “They’re my favorite.” The room that will be Eleanor’s used to be a “panda room,” she said. There’s still one large stuffed one to keep the baby company. And now she’ll have a panda picture.
“It’s so cute,” Schwenning said. “The art programs, any program, really, for kids that’s going to help them with the skills they have is wonderful. It gives them a purpose.”
Smith got the idea for the program at a conference she attended. Other hospitals across the country have similar programs but they involve photography and adults.
“This program is unique because it’s a way to engage young people in service and help them to make a difference,” Smith said. “We’re very fortunate to partner with Akron Public Schools.”
“There’s been a lot of research recently on the effect of art on healing,” she said. “Art has the power to create a healing environment and bring out positive emotions and positive feelings. That’s really the purpose of this, to improve the patient experience. … It’s a unique way to engage young people in service. They can participate and feel that they made a difference.”
Smith told the story of how when she was a young student, one of her pieces of art was selected to hang in the Akron Art Museum.
“I remember how that made me feel,” she said. “The pride … it was an art piece about the environment and it just made me feel so good that I had made a difference. … That was a formative experience for me.”
Elementary students can’t come into the hospital and go into the units, but this is a way they can contribute and volunteer, Smith said.
Among the birds, butterflies and mountain scenes, one piece of art on the cart stood out: a bright orange rocket with red flames hurtling through deep space, created by second-grader Colten of Ritzman.
“He rebelled,” Smith said with a laugh.
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.