October is Music Therapy Month in PA

The Masonic Village at Elizabethtown is alive with the sound of music!

• Did you know that last month, our music therapists provided group and individual sessions for 400 different residents of the Masonic Health Care Center and Freemasons Building – Personal Care?
• Did you know that the average attendance for a week of Music Therapy programs is 500?
• Did you know that music therapy at Masonic Village at Elizabethtown has been alive and well for almost 18 years?

A lot of work has gone into achieving these numbers. From one board-certified music therapist in 1999, the department has grown to include five board-certified music therapists, one Temple University intern and six Elizabethtown College clinical students at present. There are also Music Therapy programs at Masonic Villages’ Sewickley, Lafayette Hill and Warminster locations.

In Elizabethtown, music therapists Ann Dinsmore, Kimberly Glass, Kathy Keener Shantz, Angela Junker and Elizabeth Eargle, assisted by intern Brooke Wright, provide a wide variety of groups each month. Besides Music Therapy, they offer Music and Memories, Music and Movement, Movers and Singers, four Chime Choirs, five resident choirs, a Ukulele Club and music for intergenerational groups, socials and special events. They also provide an average of 70 individual sessions each month, which include end-of-life music.

All five music therapists supervise students from Elizabethtown College, as well as Temple and Immaculata Universities. They also serve as a resource for the campus and wider community, providing presentations and educational programs for a variety of groups.

As October is Music Therapy Month in Pennsylvania, we celebrate Music Therapy at Masonic Villages and thank all our supporters!