Congratulations Ashley on your Emmy for your part in the 2021 United Way of the Big Bend commercial.

Ashley’s accomplishment and involvement in this project is truly incredible. In addition to being an exceptional percussionist and musician, Ashley is an excellent music therapy clinician. Ashley graduated with her Bachelor’s in Music Therapy from Florida State University in 2010, subsequently became a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC), and has been employed as a staff Music Therapist with Big Bend Hospice for about 8 years. She currently serves hospice patients and families in Gadsden, Liberty, Wakulla, and Franklin counties and brings compassion and skill to every visit. 

Big Bend Hospice currently employs 5 Full Time MT-BCs as staff Music Therapists. Each of them provides music therapy visits using research and evidenced based music therapy techniques to address goals such as pain management, respiratory symptom management, emotional and grief support, life review and reminiscence, decreasing anxiety or agitation, providing sensory stimulation, increasing quality of life, and more. This service is supported through community-based donations and grants and patients and families pay nothing out of pocket. Music Therapy visits can benefit patients no matter their status, patients do not need to have any musical background, and patients and families can participate actively, or just rest and listen during visits. Big Bend Hospice Music Therapists like Ashley use live, patient preferred and selected music in visits at bedside and adjust the music and Music Therapy techniques used to match the patient’s current needs, presentation, and comfort level. Music Therapists often use guitar and singing in visits, but other instruments can be used and added as needed. Because of the importance of the work we do and sacred nature of the visits we provide, Big Bend Hospice only employs MT-BCs with the highest skills, and Ashley embodies this standard of excellence.