MEDIA CONTACT:
Laura Phillips Ward | WardComm Public Relations
laura@wardcommpr.com | 860.573.4809
ASAP’s “GET BETTER” PRESCRIPTIONS
ARE MORE THAN JUST SLIPS OF PAPER
Urgent Care Chain Employs the
Healing Power of Art at Each Clinic Location
August 28, 2014 | Greenwich, CT –Long before identifying its first clinic locations, ASAP Urgent Care carefully crafted its plan to provide each sick patient with more than just an examination and prescription. At the top of the list was decorating each of its facilities with a specially curated artwork collection, created by local artists. Why? As so perfectly explained in “More Hospitals Use the Healing Powers of Art” by Laura Landro in The Wall Street Journal on August 18, 2014, “paintings and other works of art help patients and families in the healing process … [there is] a direct link between the content of images and the brain’s reaction to pain, stress, and anxiety.”
“It’s about so much more than simple décor or adding a splash of color to the sterility of the walls in a medical office building,” says ASAP Urgent Care CEO Traver Hutchins. “The right kinds of paintings, photographs, sculptures, and other illustrations have been proven to help patients not only feel but, ultimately, get better. With that knowledge, we just had to seize the opportunity to deliver an atmosphere and experience that boosts the healing process for our patients.”
With a vision based upon an understanding of the medical research and its findings, Hutchins and his team hired interdisciplinary abstract painter, art gallery owner, and independent curator and Ellen Hackl Fagan to create custom art exhibits for each of ASAP Urgent Care’s clinics. When ASAP‘s first clinic opened in Hamden last December, the first collection was unveiled – it features works by Suzan Shutan and Jim Hett. As each of ASAP’s clinics opened in other towns, new collections featuring different local artists were introduced – work by Leah Caroline in the Milford facility, Kevin van Aelst in North Haven, and Fagan herself in Madison. Prints on display at ASAP Urgent Care are unique to the clinics and can be made available through Ellen Hackl Fagan.
ASAP Urgent Care staff reports that patients and their families truly love the artwork. As ASAP expands its footprint in New England, it will continue its search for more local artists to feature.
About the Artists
Susan Shutan (featured at Hamden ASAP Urgent Care)
Born in New Haven, Susan Shutan is an installation artist who transforms ordinary materials such as tar paper and pomp oms into extraordinary abstract sculptures. Currently, she is in Poland installing and exhibiting her work at the National Gallery of Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Poland. Shutan recently received a Fellowship in Sculpture from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism funding all work created in 2012-13. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, and is represented in private and public collections.
Kevin van Aelst (featured at North Haven ASAP Urgent Care)
Born in Elmira, New York, Kevin van Aelst did most of his growing up in central Pennsylvania and now lives and works in New Haven. His dry humor transforms the messages embedded within the materials he photographs – it’s a pop collision of modern and historical theories and arcane products. From 2007-2011, van Aelst’s photos illustrating The Medium could be seen weekly in The New York Times Magazine. They have also been featured in dozens of publications, including: Scientific American, Money, Wired, Time, and The Atlantic. Currently on the faculty at the ACES/Educational Center for the Arts, he is a recipient of a 2008 fellowship grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Leah Caroline (featured at Milford ASAP Urgent Care)
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Leah Caroline lives and works in New Haven. She received her BFA from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme. Caroline works with a variety of media – in particular, cyanotype printing, photography, and digital media. She makes large scrolls with the cyanotypes, and creates installations with her work. Her images embrace the mystery of light sensitive materials and photography’s ability to capture and collect personal memories. Caroline has shown in regional exhibitions, written and illustrated for Chabad.org, and is the founder and artist teacher of the Connecticut Artists’ Beit Midrash.
Jim Hett (featured at Madison and Hamden ASAP Urgent Care)
Jim Hett was born, raised, and lives in Darien. His series of drawings and mixed media pieces portray everyday objects, interpreted in over 300 variations. On an ongoing basis, Hett delivers his extraordinary portrait of the world with equal parts humor and insatiable curiosity. He has exhibited his work at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Katonah Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, New York University and the University of Connecticut. His work is featured in the literary publication Post Road.
Ellen Hackl Fagan (featured at Madison ASAP Urgent Care)
The curator of the collection for ASAP Urgent Care, Ellen Hackl Fagan lives in Greenwich and New York City. She’s an interdisciplinary artist and an abstract painter who builds connections between color and sound in her paintings, interactive games, and installations. A long-time independent curator, Fagan has just opened her first gallery in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, NYC, named ODETTA. Fagan moved to Connecticut in 1983 and has been exhibiting, teaching, curating, and organizing exhibitions of art throughout the state. Awards include the Aldrich Museum’s RADIUS program and receiving a working grant for her Reverse Color Organ project from the Stamford Museum & Nature Center. Currently, she is a finalist for an Art in Public Spaces grant from the Connecticut Culture & Tourism’s Percent for Art program.
About ASAP Urgent Care
Founded in Connecticut by doctors with over three decades of experience, ASAP Urgent Care is dedicated to providing a better solution for people who have urgent medical needs. Two key ways ASAP does this is by always welcoming walk-in patients and guaranteeing they will be seen within 20 minutes of checking in. In addition to urgent care, ASAP offers occupational medicine, online doctor visits, and diet and sleep aid for patients of all ages. ASAP’s employer services help keep businesses running and employees healthy with a wide range of services from diagnostics, to flu clinics, to drug screenings, and more. To see ASAP Urgent Care, watch this short video.
Centers are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. ASAP guarantees patients will be seen within 20 minutes of checking in at its locations – if ASAP is somehow unable to fulfill this promise, patients made to wait more than 20 minutes will receive a credit of $20 toward their next visit. And, between now and the end of September, patients are invited to save $10 with an online coupon. Through ASAP’s website, patients can check in online before heading to a facility. Those not wanting to leave the comfort of their own homes can video conference with healthcare professionals. All ASAP Urgent Care centers – Hamden (203-248-2727), Madison (203-318-8000), Milford (203-877-2273), and North Haven (203-239-2727) – have received the Urgent Care Association of America’s (UCAOA) Certified Urgent Care designation. For more information, visit www.ASAPGetBetter.com and connect with ASAP on Facebook.