History and Tribute
The Art à la Carte program is a tribute to Patti Hronek, whose vitality and passion for life enabled her to live with a rare form of bone cancer for 17 years.

The Art à la Carte program is a tribute to Patti Hronek, whose vitality and passion for life enabled her to live with a rare form of bone cancer for 17 years. During this time, Patti served as Provincial Coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society’s CanSurmount volunteer program. Patti visited with hundreds of cancer patients, bringing humour, encouragement and hope to everyone she met. Weaving tales of her life as a farm girl amputee in between the lines of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, Patti herself was poetry in motion. She combined her skill as a journalist and motivational speaker to inspire fellow patients into believing that life could be lived fully with cancer.

"Pearls" said Patti, clutching the signature strand at her neck, "are made from the suffering of oysters."

Patti was hospitalized for the last year of her life. Bedridden and unable to move, she chose to cling tenaciously to life while her body tumbled to the depths of pain and suffering. Patti was visited often by fellow CanSurmount volunteer, Debbie Baylin, who one day decided to bring life to the colourless walls of Patti’s hospital room by providing a selection of posters and photographs.

Patti chose images that were reminiscent of her Stettler, Alberta, home. As the pictures were hung on the walls, her sterile hospital room was transformed into a comforting home environment.

Patti Hronek began to have a clearer view. The soothing images surrounding her bed helped Patti to combat her fear of dying by peacefully reconnecting with her own life experience. Debbie saw clearly that the impact of her gesture extended way beyond aesthetics. By conjuring up a series of powerful memories she had in fact framed hope.

Debbie established Art à la Carte in 1994 as a tribute to her cherished friend. Operating solely on heart, she initiated the program with a selection of 75 posters that were donated by museums and galleries such as The National Gallery of Canada and the Smithsonian Institute. Today this same collection has grown to include 600 reproductions and photographs, more than half of which have been donated by museums, poster manufacturers, places of business, artists and the general public. Each selection reflects the styles and subjects most frequently requested by patients and their visitors. In teams of two, volunteers bring an assortment of wildlife, landscape, humour, pet and fine art prints to patients’ rooms on a weekly basis. Patients or their visitors then make a selection. The artwork often becomes a topic for upbeat conversation, particularly in a palliative situation.

Art à la Carte is unique to Calgary and much of North America both in concept and delivery. In addition to the bedside program, treatment areas have been decorated to create a more welcoming atmosphere throughout the hospital. A Wellness Area that includes a seven-panel commissioned mural provides a tranquil retreat for patients and staff. SkyCeilings that provide illusions of nature help to calm radiation and chemotherapy patients. The Footprints Gallery was dedicated in June of 2002. Eighty original paintings, prints and photographs provide visual and emotional diversion to anyone who travels the highly stressed Minor Emergency and Intensive Care hallways of the Foothills Medical Centre. The donated pieces celebrate the memories and lives of past patients while providing local artists with a unique opportunity to showcase their talents.

Art à la Carte is a little idea that is making a very big difference. Since its inception, more than 50,000 visits have been made to local health care facilities by compassionate volunteers who offer comfort to patients and families, restore dignity and heighten morale. Associations are being formed throughout Alberta, Canada, and soon the world. Conceived not as a cure, but rather an enduring tribute to one woman’s beauty, Art à la Carte has grown into a compelling and unique complement to patient care.