Bringing cheer, relieving stress

When Elaine Poggi’s mother was hospitalized at Barnes-Jewish with non-Hodgkins lymphoma 12 years ago, Poggi brought in some of her own photographs to make the room more cheerful.

“It was nice for her, it was nice for me, and the nurses and doctors also enjoyed it,” Poggi said.

After her mother’s death, Poggi launched the “Healing Photo Art” foundation, which has now placed thousands of nature photographs in 200 medical institutions on six continents. Local facilities include Barnes-Jewish, St. Anthony’s, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers.

Poggi, who mostly lives in Florence, Italy, offers her own work and that of other photographers. Images from Tuscany and underwater vistas are favorites. The first 10 to 15 photos are often donated; additional photos and frames are paid for by the facility or through contributions.

In the decade since Poggi began her work, studies have shown the positive results of pleasant health-care settings, including relieving stress and even reducing chemotherapy’s negative side effects. Other research, some of which involved Poggi’s images, has documented the specific impact of landscapes and other nature scenes.

“These patients really want something on the walls, and they prefer nature,” Poggi said. “I feel like we’re on the front end of a trend.”