ABOUT US

What it Really Means to be a Spartan Bedside DJ

• Our Purpose:

  • Bring humanizing experiences to patients while they undergo treatment and rehabilitation in the hospital setting​

  • Allow volunteers to make a lasting impact on the patients they serve

  • Challenge the societal perception of the aging and hospitalized population

• Our Mission

  • Empower Spartan Bedside DJ volunteers to facilitate and share meaningful moments with patients in order to improve the individual experiences of each patient​

• Out Method

  • Bedside DJs use patient-selected music as the vehicle for fostering meaningful interactions with patients​

    • Bedside DJs introduce themselves to patients as volunteers that offer a free music service. Through conversation, they find the music that each patients would like to hear, and then they share the music with them.​

    • Throughout the interaction, the Bedside DJs provide companionship to patients by reflecting their responses to the music and accepting their invitations for conversation

  • Our unique service model allows people of any age, health care experience, or musical background to serve patients as bedside DJs

    • Bedside DJ​ volunteers are trained to interact with patients in sensitive, empathetic manner. the only equipment needed is an internet -accessing device and a Bluetooth speaker​​

• Our Challenge

  • Volunteers observed three interrelated issues in an inpatient oncology unit:​

  • Patients feel lonely and anxious during their hospital stay, especially when they have not had any recent visitors

  • Volunteers feel unable to make a meaningful impact on patients, as they find it difficult to spend long periods of time with patients in their current roles

  • Nurses are therefore burdened with additional responsibilities, as patients rely on them for socialization

• Our Impact

  • The Spartan Bedside DJ Volunteer ​Program empowers volunteers to tackle the above issues simultaneously through their service