Meet Bernice Chu: When music therapy hits the right notes to deliver world-class care

Better care can sound like music. In the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn, Trauma, and High Acuity Unit (BTHA) at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), it can sound like soft acoustic guitar. It might be gentle piano. Or, if you’re Massimo Cerantola, it’s fist-pumping heavy metal. 

Music therapist Bernice Chu meets every patient where they are to deliver world-class care. She listens. She adapts. She plays what helps them feel like themselves again. 

After Massimo suffered second and third-degree burns on 41% of his body, he needed to feel like himself again. That’s how he found himself in VGH’s BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn Unit under Bernice’s care. 

For Massimo, music wasn’t background noise. So Bernice built him a personalized playlist packed with his heavy metal favourites. 

Music played a big role in Massimo’s life and it helped keep him motivated even when he was in pain. Through music therapy, Bernice helped Massimo recall concerts he went to with his wife. He remembered stories about his family. 

We all know that feeling. A first dance. A song in a car with a friend. Music transports us closer to the people we love and the memories that make us who we are. 

“Music therapy made him feel more supported and more himself,” says Bernice. 

That’s why music therapy matters. It delivers better care — medically and emotionally. 

And donors make it possible. 

“A lot of music therapy services across BC exist because of philanthropy,” says Bernice. 

She continues, “It’s because of generous donations that we’re able to have direct impact on people’s lives.” 

Your generosity through VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation fuels this world-class care. It powers music therapists like Bernice. It supports patients like Massimo. It helps people heal. 

This is the power of plus. Make your impact. Donate today.