A piano in a hospital

Lee Aase from Mayo Clinic shared an interesting story with us at the recent Reshape 2009 event in the Netherlands. They placed a piano in the lobby of the hospital and an old couple showed their talent.

The video became a viral one and now has more than 4 million visits. A few weeks later, the couple appeared in many US TV shows as well:

Lee described in his slideshow that it cost around $75 to make this happen but bringing the joy to the world through music is priceless. Great example how hospitals can reach patients via social media.

Here is another story:

Alex Walton-Creutz began drawing crowds by playing the piano at Mayo Clinic when he was just eight years old and started coming to the clinic with his mother, Lynnette. Lynnette is a patient at Mayo and comes for treatment at least once a year. When he was eight, Alex was playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and the Pathetique Sonata. At 15 he’s moved well beyond Beethoven, to playing his own compositions. Alex plays by ear and is always composing.

I don’t think it only happens at Mayo Clinic or Mayo Clinic inspires people that way, but this is the only clinic where such great stories are being recorded and shared with the world via proper communication channels.