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Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s expertise in performing arts medicine — a specialty focused on preventing and treating medical issues related to performing — took center stage in a recent profile in Ravinia Magazine, “On Call for the Arts: Ravinia Festival & Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Celebrate 30 Years of Partnership.”
Ravinia Festival, located in Highland Park, Ill., is the longest-running outdoor music festival in North America. It hosts more than 100 performances every summer for approximately 400,000 attendees.
For the past 30 years, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab has served as Ravinia Festival’s on-call performing arts medicine partner, providing medical care for both performing artists and stage crew members.
“Our job for Ravinia Festival is to keep everyone up and running from a medical perspective, always mindful of performers’ overall health, so they can deliver memorable experiences for patrons,” said Maria Reese, MD, director of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s performing arts medicine program.
To learn more about Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s longstanding collaboration with Ravinia Festival, read the full article or enjoy a few excerpts from the story below:
About On-call Medical Care at Ravinia Festival
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“Artists can contact us anytime and immediately access our on-call doctor,” said Dr. Reese. “If a performer forgets a medication or needs physical therapy to help minimize pain, we focus on coordinating their medical care so they can focus on preparing for their performance.”
Many Ravinia Festival artists travel from around the country and the world for a single concert or a short run of performances. As a result, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s medical care often is geared toward triaging acute needs expeditiously on the day of a performance, versus offering longer-term treatments for the duration of an extended show run.
For example, physiatrists on call at Ravinia Festival can assist with interventions for pain or inflammation; prescribe medications; coordinate care with an artist’s regular doctor at home; and provide onsite evaluations and therapy for common performance-related issues.
The Impact on Ravinia Festival’s Performing Artists
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“We’re really grateful for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and artists treated over the years have been grateful as well,” said Erik Soderstrom, Ravinia’s senior director of programming. “The on-call medical care is incredibly important to our success and to maintaining a place that both artists and our audience want to come to.”
Physicians Supporting the Arts
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“Our physicians love having the opportunity to work with Ravinia Festival,” said Dr. Reese. “It’s a unique experience to be on call to ensure these top performers are supported — and also to play a role in supporting the arts.”
Keeping Chicago’s Performing Arts Community Healthy
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Serving as Ravinia Festival’s on-call medical partner is one of many roles of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s robust performing arts medicine program.
“Our program is unique in both the depth of our care and the breadth of the people and conditions we treat,” said Dr. Reese. “We see amateurs as well as professionals, young artists as well as mature artists. We treat acute focal pain episodes as well as large-scale, complex issues. We care for dancers, musicians, vocalists, actors, crew and production members, treating nearly the entire neuromusculoskeletal system, from jaw to toe!”
On Keeping Performers Performing
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“All too often, artists are told, 'Rest. Take time off.' This isn’t realistic and does not acknowledge their mental health, passion, drive and love for their art form,” said Dr. Reese. “That’s why our whole concept is focused on keeping performers performing.”
