Edmonton's Grey Nuns Community Hospital is looking to make a NICU music therapy program permanent after a successful four-month pilot. The program, the first of its kind in Edmonton, uses music to reduce heart rates, support sleep regulation, and help parents bond with their babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Music therapist Rebecca Lappa, born prematurely herself, is spearheading the initiative. Families, like that of Gypsy Bendoy and her one-month-old son Timothy, report emotional and physiological benefits. “He was smiling,” Bendoy said of Timothy’s response to therapy.
Program manager Mark Lansing says the program offers critical mental health support for families navigating the stress of the NICU. The Covenant Foundation, which oversees the hospital, is seeking community funding to cover the up to $70,000 two-year cost. Karlee Conway, director of marketing for the foundation, described the program as transformative for families from birth onwards.