Four decades after the rock band Journey introduced the song “Don’t Stop Believin'” about a fictional place called South Detroit, Detroit’s hospitals are now playing the song for coronavirus patients who are on the mend.
“The song is a sign of hope, a reminder to patients to never give up and a motivational thank-you to tired, never-stop-trying team members,” Veronica Hall, president of Henry Ford Hospital and a registered nurse, told the Detroit News.
The song has long been a staple at Detroit Red Wings hockey games and is now a reminder of many signs of hope at these metro Detroit hospitals, as they play the song whenever a patient gets off a ventilator or gets discharged from the hospital.
“The victories and the happy moments…are often marked with smiles, cheers, maybe a recording of successes on whiteboards — and tears of relief among the critical care teams and staff connected to emergency and COVID-19 units,” Hall said.
Other hospitals in Michigan, which has become one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, are celebrating their coronavirus patients’ recovery and discharge with similar upbeat tunes, such as Katrina and the Waves’ “Walkin’ on Sunshine” or the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.”
Michigan’s Beaumont Health began playing “Here Comes the Sun” after one of the hospital’s employees suggested playing a song about hope. Now the hospital plays the song whenever someone is off a ventilator or discharged.
Health care facilities outside of Michigan are also blasting the tune. In an Instagram post shared by Journey’s Jonathan Cain, health care workers dance, clap their hands, and holler and hoot in the background as the song plays while two patients are being wheeled down a hallway.
“Love this from a hospital in NYC where people are being released after beating Covid-19 while they played our song,” wrote Cain, Journey’s keyboardist who co-wrote the 1981 song.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.