Hospitalized, elderly, families, health professionals and the medical-social sector: an increasingly large community benefits from the culture-health device, which brings books, theatre or music to life in hospitals or EHPAD Burgundy-Franche-Comté. The Regional Health Agency and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs renew their partnership.

Whether it is theatre, readings, visual arts, circus or music and photography, the hospital and medical-social institutions of Burgundy-Franche-Comté welcome culture.

Every year, projects co-built by artists and health care teams are supported by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), as part of a renewed partnership this Tuesday, May 9, at the DRAC headquarters in Dijon.

These reciprocal commitments at the regional level replicate those of the Ministries of Health and Prevention and Culture, which sign the “Culture and Health” convention defining the main axes of this policy with the double ambition: to provide access to culture for disabled and sick people and to improve their reception; to help ensure a more pleasant professional environment for health care workers.

Every year since 2016 at the scale of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, a call for projects is open to health facilities and medical-social structures in the region.

The projects, for which it is essential that they are co-constructed by the professionals involved and the health care teams, are examined in the framework of a steering committee involving representatives of the ARS, the DRAC, the institutions and the users.

The association Itinéraires Singuliers, “Arts, Cultures, Health and Disabilities” resource centre, provides expertise and support in the management of the call for projects (organization of training, support for professionals, project monitoring, etc.)

The enthusiasm is growing since each year, more and more projects are submitted: 54 in 2017, 114 for the year 2023.

Of these 114 applications, 69 projects were funded by the regional envelope (210,000 euros) in the 8 departments: 19 in hospitals, 22 in EHPAD, the other files concerning specialized reception houses (MAS), medical and educational institutes (IME) or Mutual Aid Groups (GEM).

These shared experiences reaffirm the role of health care facilities in the city, and also contribute to the fight against isolation and withdrawal.

On the occasion of the signing of the Convention, the Compagnie Pernette (dance) and the Maison d'accueil spécialisé (MAS) of Étalans, located in the Doubs, will testify to the projects carried out together within the framework of this convention.