Real sky or merely an illusion
Rotary Club of Calgary West provides long-awaited funding!

The ceilings pictured here are in fact "illusions" that have such an authentic presentation that it is all but impossible to distinguish the likeness from mother nature herself. A product of U. S. manufacturer,The Sky Factory, a SkyCeiling™ can bring calm and comfort to both patients and staff by introducing natural beauty into highly stressful treatment areas.

12 panel ceiling installation

Thanks to champions such as the RBC Foundation and now, Rotary Club of Calgary West, Art à la Carte has been busily introducing ceilings to select areas of both the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Foothills Hospital. The concept was first introduced two years ago when a 12 panel ceiling was installed above a radiotherapy machine at the Tom Baker. As a result, many patients with claustrophobia no longer require medication in order to complete their procedures.

In the spring of 2009 Art à la Carte installed three ceilings above the beds on the Apheresis Unit where patients endure painful infusions for many hours at a time. With support from both The Sky Factory and Alberta Health Services, Art à la Carte is conducting a research project to quantify the impact of the tranquil views for Apheresis patients and their visitors. While research identifying quality of life as it relates to artistic complements is plentiful, the completed Apheresis study will be the first of its kind to quantify the effects of ceiling illusions.

Patient bay SkyCeiling™ close-up

Thanks to the enormous generosity of Rotary Club of Calgary West and the undaunted support of Art à la Carte advisor, Mike French, a second 12 panel ceiling mural will now finally be installed on the chemotherapy unit. The SkyCeiling™ has been in storage for three years because of lack of funding for the installation. A dedication is anticipated in early 2010.

Click here to watch Global Calgary's Health Beat segment for September 28, 2007, featuring Art à la Carte's SkyCeiling initiative. Michelle Schurman interviews patients and staff from the radiotherapy department of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. We are extremely grateful to Michelle for providing this articulate commentary as well as the entire Global team for granting permission to post the segment to our website.

"The SkyCeilings are spectacular! Thank you for bringing sunshine into our lives." – Carol Westberg, Cancer Survivor