Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 8 20 H E A LT H C A R E About 29% of respondents said they were reimbursed either through govern- ment funding or third-party reim- bursements for their services. Funding sources include hospitals, endowments, private insurers, grants and donations and Medicare, which covers music ther- apy in specific situations. MaineCare still doesn't cover music therapy despite a push by Beever and others, nor is there a state music therapy license as is the case in at 10 other states (including New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island) according to the national certification board. In Maine, there are board-certified music therapists in a number of com- munities working in a variety of medical settings, including two interns every four months at Birch Bay Retirement Village in Bar Harbor. e nonprofit retirement community is a member of the Mount Desert Island Hospital Organization. Melissa Violette, Birch Bay's music therapy program director, has been working as a music therapist for more than 25 years and in Maine since 2015. "When I came to Maine, I was really surprised I was one of a handful of music therapists, that it wasn't more established," she says. "I feel like it's growing in Maine, some of it because of my interns." ough some head out of state afterwards, she says her most recent graduate hails from California but plans to stay in Bar Harbor and hopes to find a music therapy job in Maine. Violette, who works predominantly with people dealing with dementia, says she can't imagine doing any- thing else. Years ago in Georgia she worked with a 22-year-old psychi- atric patient suffering from demen- tia who had withdrawn into herself, until she broke out in song to "e Greatest Love Of All," starting softly and building to a full, clear voice that moved everyone in the room to tears. rough one of the most power- ful experiences of her career, Violette downplays her role, saying, "It was the music, it wasn't me." Similarly, Patricia Mulholland of Arundel underscores that there's a distinction between music therapy and performance, and that she is there to provide a service. Clients include a female stroke survivor she's helped write a piano sonata documenting her journey in five movements, and an elderly woman with dementia who's come out of her shell through singing and co-songwriting." "She's quite gifted with language and is very open to improvisation," Mulholland explains a few days after letting Mainebiz observe and photo- graph part of a session. After breath- ing exercises, they sing "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess, the client grace- fully moving her arms as if she's conducting. Mulholland, who also does con- sulting and wellness work, sees about five private clients a week and finds it challenging to build her practice. "If I were earlier in my career," she says, "I would be a little more pro-active." MedRhythms' digital vision Much newer to the profession, 2011 University of Maine graduate Brian Harris and his business partner Owen McCarthy aim to use technology to bring music therapy to as many people as possible not just in Maine but worldwide. ey are developing a platform to help people with neurological injuries and diseases as they work toward get- ting FDA approval for prescription products and ramp up hiring engi- neers and a commercial position. Harris is a certified music thera- pist, while McCarthy studied biologi- cal engineering, and they just raised $5 million in Series A venture capital financing for their Portland-based startup, which is called MedRhythms. Harris says they're teaching the algorithm to think like a clinician and maybe even do a better job than humans with all the data it's collect- ing from the sensors. "e future of health care is in digital therapeutics," he says. R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E THERE IS A DIFFERENCE Because Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Sheridan Construction www.sheridancorp.com Fairfield Portland 207-453-9311 207-774-6138 Bear's Den, UMO Patricia Mulholland, a therapist in Arundel, works with a client who has dementia but relishes singing. Brian Harris (pictured) and Owen McCarthy recently raised $5 million for their Portland startup, MedRhythms. P H O T O S / J I M N E U G E R The future of healthcare is in digital therapeutics. — Brian Harris MedRhythms

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