Storytelling and Healthcare: Stories for the Soul

In 2002, ISC brought storytelling to a special new audience: hospital patients. In partnership with the Mountain States Health Alliance, a network of 14 hospitals in East Tennessee, ISC produced a series of performances by master storytellers that were broadcast on a dedicated channel on hospital TVs. Built on research that showed a strong link between stories and healing, the programming was a comforting alternative to patients who were tired of watching reruns and afternoon talk shows. Stories for the Soul, as the program became known, eventually expanded to include recorded concerts for pediatric patients.