We continue to monitor COVID-19, flu and other respiratory viruses in our communities. Read the most current information about prevention, testing and where to go if you're sick.

COVID-19 Information

The Art of Healing

When David Coblitz brought his friend to MoBap’s Wound Healing Center for treatment, he likely didn’t realize he was stepping into his next project.

David is an award-winning St. Louis artist and photographer who specializes in stress-relieving art designed to promote healing. In June 2023, the Wound Healing Center partnered with David, who donated pictures of calming nature scenes to be installed above each of the hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Hyperbaric wound therapy involves lying in one of these hyperbaric oxygen chambers, a treatment that exposes the body to 100 percent oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure. This exposure, which lasts one to two hours, can promote faster healing in chronic wounds. Now, while patients receive treatment, they can view the art and focus on beautiful and peaceful scenery. But the images are more than pretty pictures.

“This evidence-based design art, or healing art, has been shown to work in medical environments to reduce stress for patients and staff,” David says.

For years, practitioners have used art therapy in medical settings to help patients communicate and promote overall well-being. According to the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), art therapy can also help patients:

  • Reduce stress. Art can lower levels of cortisol, or the stress hormone, in the body.
  • Improve focus. Making art can also help you feel more present.
  • Process emotions. For patients undergoing a health challenge, making art can help them express feelings without words.
  • Inspire hope. Making art can feel cathartic and prompt patients to imagine a better future.

You might not even have to pull out your art supplies to receive these benefits. That’s because there is mounting evidence that even simply viewing art can be valuable. Looking at a piece of art might help you to:

  • Increase your serotonin level. This is the hormone responsible for boosting your mood.
  • Stimulate the creation of new neural pathways. This not only enhances your brain function but also promotes new ways of thinking.

And as the old adage goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's to say, if you’re searching for the most optimal piece of art to observe because you'd like to reap the health benefits, it’s really a matter of personal taste. ACRM cites a study that took images of participants’ brains as they were viewing paintings by renowned artists. Blood flow to the brain increased by as much as 10 percent in instances in which viewers looked at a painting that they deemed the most beautiful.

While the Wound Healing Center had several image options to choose from, its program director, Zehra Kujundzic, RT(R), MHA, CRA, says the team selected images featuring water because hyperbaric oxygen therapy can evoke the feeling of diving and being underwater.

  

“We’ve had positive patient comments, and the artwork has initiated fun conversations,” Zehra says. “When patients are dealing with wounds and other conditions, the artwork helps distract them from the seriousness of their disease process.”

Zehra adds that healing is the center’s primary goal, and “now we promote healing not only through advanced wound care but also through the center’s environment, where patients and staff spend the most time.”

 

Wound Healing Center contact form

 

Related Content

Find a Doctor or Make an Appointment

Our new search tool will help you choose a doctor or health care provider that is best for you or your family.

Search Now

Mark Finds A New Path to Healing

After years of living with diabetes, Mark had developed a grade 3 non-healing wound on the bottom of his foot that kept him from standing or walking without pain. The diligent support of the Wound Healing Center team coupled with the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Mark would find a new path to healing.

Learn More keyboard_arrow_right

The Art of Healing

When David Coblitz brought his friend to MoBap’s Wound Healing Center for treatment, he likely didn’t realize he was stepping into his next project. “This evidence-based design art, or healing art, has been shown to work in medical environments to reduce stress for patients and staff,” David says.

Learn More keyboard_arrow_right

A Special Place to Heal

Just one day after the opening of the Wound Healing Center at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, its physicians and staff began saving a man's life.

Learn More keyboard_arrow_right

Navigating Treatment at the Wound Healing Center at Missouri Baptist

“A key factor to our healing process is the relationship between our physicians, the referring provider and the patient,” said Allison Schilling, program director of the Wound Healing Center.

Learn More keyboard_arrow_right
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at MoBap

Under Pressure - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, also known as HBO, is used to treat some medical conditions. About 10% of patients who visit the Wound Healing Center will qualify for HBO treatments. The treatment takes place in a chamber where you are monitored by an HBO technologist.
 

Learn More keyboard_arrow_right