What’s a “Standard of Care”?

A standard of care is a guide for assuring Art Pharmacy’s arts and culture partners are providing a safe, welcoming, and enriching experience for all referred members. Art Pharmacy’s standard of care is a way for Art Pharmacy to be sure our diverse network of arts and culture partners share values and practices important to Art Pharmacy’s model of care.

<aside> 📌 As a reminder, Art Pharmacy partners with organizations and individuals whose offerings are supportive of:

• A creative process or product
• Inclusivity and sense of belonging
• A chance for reflection
• Mutual respect and agency
• Connection and engagement </aside>

Art Pharmacy’s Standard of Care*

Art Pharmacy’s Standard of Care asks that all Arts & Culture Partners…

• Welcome/engage with participants as soon as they step through the door/access a virtual space, ensuring that every participant is acknowledged and valued.
• Provide participants an experience that cultivates an emotional connection, a sense of belonging, and a chance for self-reflection through the participation in or appreciation of a creative process or product.
• Always respects individuals’ agency and autonomy in an environment of mutual respect.
• Maintain a commitment to apply their professional knowledge and skills, to ensure participant safety and program effectiveness, and to work within their qualifications (drawn from experience, training and education). Arts & Culture Partners do not engage in practices beyond their qualifications and take measures to clarify and support the roles of other health-related professionals.
• Promote the inclusion of all individuals to the fullest extent possible, committing to make the arts accessible to all interested individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, ability, or socioeconomic status.
  • To foster collective wellbeing, equity must be at the core of the nascent field—a nonnegotiable commitment to dedicating the tools and sharing the power of the arts with all populations and in every community across culture, racial and ethnic background, socioeconomic status, skill set, and more.
• Practice a mission/stated values that speak to the value of art in the human experience.
  • Experiencing art is fundamental to being human, a common thread across cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds, age groups, income levels, and skill sets. The arts offer a shared language, a means of elevating diverse voices, and a catalyst for action.

*****Informed ****by the National Organization for Arts in Health’s “Code of Ethics and Standards for Arts in Health Professionals,” available here.