Dr. Diane Schneider is fully aware the chords of her harp will not cure the terminally ill.

But Schneider is equally convinced the tranquil music she plays provides the type of comfort they cannot get from a prescription.

Schneider, affiliated with Mayo Systems, has a Ph.D in the area of theology and spirituality. Pastoring as a hospital chaplain, Schneider began using her harp with patients while working for Franciscan Skemp-Mayo Health Care Services in La Crosse for three years.

She now lives in St. Augustine, Fla., and works for a Mayo hospital in nearby Jacksonville. She is a full-time harpist, practitioner and researcher for the Mayo Palliative (end of life) Medical Consultative Service. She is part of a team that consists of nurses and doctors to meet the needs of terminally ill patients.

Through a collaborative effort with the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Tomah Memorial Hospital Hospice Touch, the first of its kind, Schneider visited Tomah last week.

She provided several inservices for Tomah VA staff and presented a Healing Harp Concert on Aug. 16 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. The performance at Gloria Dei attracted approximately 120 people.

Schneider has played harp for over 25 years, starting in college.

At the time she started work as a chaplain, Schneider began to incorporate harp lyrics into her pastoral support. She plays a 35-string lever harp.

She said that harp vibrations can measurably change the cell vibration rate in humans and boost neuronal activity (the firing of neutrons in the brain).

"(Harp music) can pulsate cells in the brain," Schneider said. "Music is a universal sound at the end of life. One of the most comforting things is bringing in music."

Schneider said her research found that harp music can help lower blood pressure (if agitated) and raise blood pressure (when lethargic).

Other symptoms for which harp music can assist in providing comfort include pain, nausea, restlessness, migraines, anxiety and eating/sleeping disorders.

Research conclusions came from patient self-assessments and feedback from family members of the terminally ill.

Nurses told Schneider that patients used less pain medication when they listened to the harp.

Pain was still evident, but the music made them feel better, Schneider added.

Through her work, Schneider is able to "custom" compose music right at the bedside.

"It is a kind of puzzle you put together," Schneider said. "The harp does things that other instruments can't. It has a longer resonance."

Mary Rezin works with terminal patients through Tomah Memorial's Hospice Touch program. Rezin, herself a harp player, heard Schneider perform at a conference in La Crosse in 2000.

"It would be something I would like to offer (at Serenity House)," Rezin said. "Music is such a blessing for some people."

Rezin has played harp for some Serenity House residents, but it was for entertainment, not any type of therapy.

Rezin said staff at the Serenity House are interested in volunteers who want to play music for residents.

They can call 374-0250 to learn more.

She hopes to use some of the funds from Schneider's concert to include music in the Hospice Touch program. Proceeds from the concert at Gloria Dei will help support Hospice Touch and the Tomah VA's Palliative Care Program.

She concedes some skepticism exists about the harp's role in palliative care.

"Nurses jump on board more quickly because they work closer with patients," Schneider said, adding doctors can be harder to convince.

Schneider will remain a vocal proponent that music has a role in serving the needs of the terminally ill.

"We can use volunteers to sing with patients, even hum with them," Schneider said.

She hopes to compile a book of testimonials from families she has worked with to help spread the word about the role of vibration medicine and its effect on the terminally ill.

For more information, visit her web site, harpist1.tripod.com. If you would like to correspond with Schneider, her e-mail is healingharpist@hotmail.com.

Organizers of the Gloria Dei concert extended thanks to Monroe County Thrivent for its support.