SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Aesthetics, Inc. of San Diego recently received the top international award for “Use of Art in the Patient Environment” at the 8th World Congress of the International Academy for Design & Health, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Aesthetics’ program, the Arts & Healing and Urban Renewal Project, was designed for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.
“This program has made a positive difference for children dealing with medical issues and is an international model for other children’s hospitals,” said Prof. Alan Dilani, director-general at International Academy of Design and Health.
The Arts & Healing and Urban Renewal Project, a research-based, visual and performing arts collaboration between Aesthetics and Children’s, was selected out of almost 100 submissions from organizations representing more than 30 countries. The international award honors teams and individuals whose professional excellence and outstanding efforts have contributed to the progress of global knowledge, while demonstrating vision and leadership in exemplary research and design initiatives that influence the international healthcare field.
The project was guided by Annette Ridenour, president of Aesthetics, Inc. Ridenour, co-author of “Transforming the Healthcare Experience Through the Arts,” is a former president of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and has been an international leader in promoting Evidence-Based arts programs in healthcare.
“The program having won this international award shows how important it is to be very strategic when designing arts programs, and is a mandate for us to 
design them to contribute to patient care,” Ridenour said.
The multi-pronged program at Children’s creates a warm, creative atmosphere that promotes healing and enhances both the child’s and family’s experience, engages patients in hands-on art projects, and forges partnerships with community arts and cultural organizations. From the first moment that one enters Children’s Hospital, through diagnosis, treatment and discharge, patients and families are immersed in an environment designed to support healing and promote inner resilience.
To bring the arts program to life, Children’s partnered with leading community organizations: COMPAS, MacPhail Center for Music, the Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and the Minneapolis Children’s Museum. Children’s recently added partnerships with the Guthrie Theater and the Science Museum of Minnesota.
