New director paints picture of arts in medicine   

Jenny Baxley Lee became the new director of UF’s Arts in Medicine program this year.
Jenny Baxley Lee became the new director of UF’s Arts in Medicine program this year. (Photo by Seth Johnson)
Photo by Seth Johnson

Jenny Baxley Lee loved to sing and dance as a child.   

“Those two languages were love languages for sure,” Lee said. “And I chased singing and dancing through my education.”  

From early experiences in music and art classes and as lead performer in the fifth-grade play, the Lakeland, Florida, native noticed the difference art can make.  

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“Just from choral experiences in school, we all came together around music differently than nearly any other activity during the school day, which felt more competitive,” Lee said. “Somehow choral music felt like something you do together, and you’re better for it.”  

Lee points to her pursuit of arts in education as what laid the foundation for her career: arts in medicine. Lee has two decades of experience in the field and this spring became the new director of Shands Hospital’s Arts in Medicine (AIM) program.  

A creature made of foam created in UF's Arts in Medicine program.
Photo by Seth Johnson A creature made of foam created in UF’s Arts in Medicine program.

Lee says she brings appreciation and gratitude for what AIM has already done to her vision for the future of the program.  

“This opportunity is exciting because there’s so much to work with,” she said. 

AIM is a comprehensive arts in healthcare program. It employs 14 artists in residence in six buildings—all with a goal to “transform the hospital experience for patients, visitors, caregivers and staff.” 

Lee said musicians, dancers and theatre practitioners across visual, performing and literary arts offer creative connection, respite and hope to patients with a wide variety of ailments. Some patients are there for long and repeated hospital stays.  

“The health care environment can be a cold and sterile place, where a lot of times you’re reduced to a number on a bracelet, or your diagnosis,” said Sarah Hinds, a visual artist in residence on the AIM team.  

Hinds said studies show ER patients need less pain medication if they listen to live music and that children’s cortisol levels are reduced while making visual art.  

Hinds said hospital staff can get respite as well. Staff frequently enjoy lobby concerts, pop up art activities or unit projects where all are invited to collaborate.  

Before coming to UF 12 years ago, Lee worked in several hospitals. She headed a community-centered arts organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, helped genocide survivors in Rwanda, and researched the arts in palliative care in Northern Ireland.   

After earning her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies with a concentration in dance and theater, she wondered, “How can I be a piece of a puzzle that’s more whole because we’re all a part of it?”  

While pursuing a master’s in dance movement therapy and a minor in counseling, she was inspired by the plays “Rent” and “Wit,” which examined, among other things, the interplay of the arts and palliative, end of life care.  

When one of her instructors got cancer, Lee connected the dots and decided to work in hospitals after graduation, instead of the typical mental health path. 

During her early years in the field, Lee recalls encountering nurses who were unfamiliar with the idea of artists offering integrative care to patients. Some would pull back when she was introduced.  

She said she won them over with simple activities, like “Take a line for a walk” on paper to color in later, or “The six-word autobiography” to show how arts activities can build connections and benefit patients.  

UF's Arts in Medicine Department uses guitars and other art to help patients.
Photo by Seth Johnson UF’s Arts in Medicine Department uses guitars and other art to help patients.

After her clinical work as a therapist in hospitals, Lee said she got “valuable administration experience” as director of Creative Clay in St. Petersburg. She said the nonprofit served adults with developmental disabilities and followed a mission to make the arts accessible to the entire Tampa Bay area.  

While Lee was applying for a grant for Creative Clay from the Florida Division of Arts and Culture, she met Jill Sonke, director of the UF Center for Arts in Medicine, which is Shands’ sister program for education, outreach and research.  

The two women recognized their similar missions and collaborated at every chance, often in post conflict or crisis settings where they saw unmet acute health needs and felt the arts had a role to play. 

“The more work we did together, the more we wanted to work together,” Lee said. 

From rural communities in the Florida Panhandle to Rwanda, they forged a relationship where it made sense for Lee to join Sonke at UF. That was 12 years ago, when Lee became the first full-time faculty member of the UF Center for Arts in Medicine, co-founded by Dr. Rusti Brandman, who also founded the dance department. 

Since coming to UF, Lee has co-founded the school’s master’s degree program in AIM, created a study abroad program in Northern Ireland, and is working on her doctorate—which focuses on the arts in palliative care. She soon plans to co-author the first textbook on arts in health. 

Lee has won fans through her work, including Charles Levy, chair of the UF’s AIM advisory board, who met Lee when he created the Rural Veterans Telerehabilitation Initiative, which is for vets living far from hospitals.  

“She’s bright and resourceful and able to connect in a meaningful way to our veterans,” said Levy, who hired Lee as the initiative’s first dance movement therapist. “I’m proud to have her as a friend and a colleague. “ 

Lee’s people skills impressed former co-worker and fellow artist Sandra Murphy-Pak, who has ALS [Lou Gehrig’s Disease] and creates art with her foot.  

“Jenny is an inspiration to work with—she is innovative and compassionate,” Murphy-Pak said. “She’s an eloquent and powerful speaker who cares deeply for the communities she serves.”  

Lobby of UF's Arts in Medicine program.
Photo by Seth Johnson Lobby of UF’s Arts in Medicine program.

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Kim Dohrman

Wonderful, Jenny! All of us at Creative Clay are cheering for your continued good work in the world. You are an inspiration!

Eugen Lavole

My husband first symptoms of ALS occurred during covid, but was diagnosed in 2021 when he was 61 years. He was on Riluzole- not crazy about it! he was also on Gabapentin and Radicava not crazy about any of it either, The Rilutek (riluzole) did very little to help him. The medical team did even less. His decline was rapid and devastating. His arms weakened first, then his hands and legs. I was a master Gardener and love herbs! This ALS took my life from me, I was no longer able to work in my garden anymore because I was a full time caregiver for my husband. We stopped most of his ALS medications due to severe side effects and I started him on herbal treatments from Health Herbs Clinic (healthherbsclinic. c om), the treatment has made a very huge difference for him. His symptoms including body weakness and slurred speech disappeared after few months on the treatment. He is getting active again since starting this treatment, he is able to walk and able to ride his treadmill again.

Eugen Lavole

This was great, I have been researching for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across Health Herbs Clinic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis HERBAL FORMULA (just google it). It is a smashing one of a kind product for reversing ALS completely. Ive heard some decent things about it and my buddy got amazing success with it.