At Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas at Austin, palliative care physician Dr. Tyler Jorgensen rolls a record player on a cart into patients\u2019 rooms, along with an ever\u2011growing library of vinyl records. <\/p>\n
The bedside music program, called ATX\u2011VINyL, is designed for patients facing serious or terminal diagnoses, from metastatic cancer to advancing dementia and Parkinson\u2019s disease. <\/p>\n
In palliative medicine, Jorgensen describes his team as an \u201cextra layer of support\u201d that focuses on a patient\u2019s values, stories and goals while managing symptoms and navigating difficult treatment decisions.<\/p>\n
From the ER to palliative care<\/p>\n
Jorgensen spent about a decade practicing emergency medicine in Austin trauma centers before training in hospice and palliative medicine at Dell Medical School. <\/p>\n
He said the switch meant moving from one of the fastest\u2011paced areas of medicine to one of the slowest, where he now spends more time sitting with patients, learning who they are beyond their diagnoses and helping them weigh the pros and cons of treatments for whatever time they may have left.<\/p>\n
How ATX\u2011VINyL began<\/p>\n
The idea for ATX\u2011VINyL grew out of both Jorgensen\u2019s lifelong love of music and a moment with a patient he struggled to connect with during his palliative care training. He recalls asking that patient if he wanted to listen to a song together, cueing up \u201cThe Boys Are Back in Town\u201d by Thin Lizzy, and watching the man open up about his life, his illnesses and his challenges after they listened. <\/p>\n
That encounter convinced Jorgensen that music was an underused tool in hospital care. He later realized that bringing in a record player \u2014 not just streaming music from a phone \u2014 could be \u201ctransportive\u201d for patients who grew up with vinyl and hadn\u2019t seen a turntable in years.<\/p>\n
A deliberately analog experience<\/p>\n
ATX\u2011VINyL, short for \u201cAudio Therapy eXperience\u2011Vinyl for Inpatients Near the end of Life,\u201d is intentionally analog in an increasingly digital hospital environment. Volunteers wheel a turntable and records into rooms after asking patients what kind of music brings them joy, with classic country, 1970s rock, soul, jazz or Spanish\u2011language ballads among the current options. <\/p>\n
Jorgensen said part of the power of vinyl is tactile: patients and families handle the records, study the album art and physically flip the sides, which slows the pace of the day and shifts attention away from monitors and machines.<\/p>\n
What happens when the music starts<\/p>\n
Once a volunteer sets up the player and directs families on how to use it, the cart stays behind and the room is theirs. People often play albums like Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cRumours,\u201d among others by artists like Etta James, Al Green, classic Willie Nelson or the Mexican balladeer Jos\u00e9 Jos\u00e9. Patients often reminisce \u2014 \u201cremember when we used to listen to this,\u201d or \u201cMom always loved this song\u201d \u2014 as they listen with their families. <\/p>\n
Jorgensen said the reactions vary: sometimes toe\u2011tapping and smiles, sometimes deep relaxation, and other times tears that can be just as important as laughter. He describes the effect as gathering around a campfire, with music creating a shared memory amid a long hospital stay and bringing \u201ca little bit of levity, a little bit of joy and happiness into an otherwise scary, intimidating time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing a small record library<\/p>\n
The program\u2019s collection currently includes roughly 60 records spanning genres, and Jorgensen said some albums are clear favorites among patients and families. This includes Etta James, Al Green, Fleetwood Mac and classic country staples. <\/p>\n
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