Edens brings the healing power of music to patients at Ronald McDonald House

Serving a practicum in an off-campus setting can be thrilling, but how about being good enough to receive an invitation to address the entity’s board of directors?

For Purdue University Fort Wayne senior Olivia Edens, she got that chance to talk about something she loves: music therapy.

“We were very impressed with Olivia’s confidence, maturity, and passion,” said Jen Veatch, chief executive officer at Ronald McDonald House of Northeast Indiana. “I have no doubt that Olivia will do incredible things in her career. She is a game changer and someone who paves the way for new and exciting things.”

Edens addressed the board about her passion and why the Ronald McDonald House needed to consider introducing more opportunities for music therapists at its Parkview Regional Medical Center location. She’d established her credentials by working two hours weekly to show how the therapy positively affected patients.

“She identified a need for music therapy at the Ronald McDonald House during her first semester as a music therapy student and was persistent in building her skills, knowledge, and network to make this a reality in her final semester,” said Charlene Delaney, a limited-term lecturer who supervised Edens’ work. “Olivia had absolute confidence discussing the benefits of music therapy with CEOs, physicians, and major stakeholders.”

Music therapy is about forming a relationship between the practitioner working through the music and the patient, with variations and effective uses in treatment, including hospice care, stress, pain relief, or helping children with emotional or developmental issues. Because of Edens’ ability and impact, families would clear their schedules to be present during her visits.  

She wasn’t just serving the patients, but sometimes other family members. When Edens entered the room to work with a teenage patient, the girl’s father left, trusting his daughter was safe—and knowing he would not be singing. While helping the patient deal with some previous trauma, the two composed a song that reminded the girl of her mother. When the father returned to hear them singing, he listened and then joined in.

“They bonded over this,” Edens said.

Another time, she worked with an 18-month-old girl who had been hospitalized for five or six weeks because she wasn’t eating, gaining weight, or keeping food down. During visits from Edens, the child would dance and show improved communication and morale.

Starting as a sixth grader, Edens volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. During a PFW music therapy retreat before her freshman year, she expressed interest in introducing music therapy at Fort Wayne’s RMH, but the pandemic shut down those early attempts.

Two years later, while taking a music therapy and healthcare class with Eileen Garwood, clinical instructor, Edens pushed forth her idea again. Garwood helped set up a hospital interview for Edens and then helped her apply for a Purdue service-learning grant to pay for the necessary materials.

“After I realized I loved music therapy as much as I did, I was going to get everything I could from it in college,” Edens said. “I am very excited and proud of the work I have done, and I am so grateful to my professors who pushed me and helped me. I just feel like I have done what I was supposed to and hope I have made my mark on the program.”

As Edens prepares to start a full-time internship at a children’s hospital in Minneapolis this summer, PFW music therapy students continue their own practicum work at the Ronald McDonald House here in Fort Wayne.