Southminster Launches Nation's First "Creative Aging on Prescription" Study with Major Research University and National Arts & Aging Experts

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Southminster just announced that it has embraced a unique opportunity to become a national leader in arts-integrated wellness within continuous care retirement communities (CCRCs). It is partnering with Lifetime Arts and Wake Forest University's NeuroArts Lab to pilot the Creative Aging on Prescription initiative.

Creative aging is the practice of using artistic and creative engagement to enhance well-being, boost physical and cognitive abilities, and enrich our overall quality of life as we age (Lifetime Arts, 2026). Inspired by the growing "Arts on Prescription" movement, which originated in the UK in the 1990s, Southminster's initiative will also greatly benefit from core advisory guidance from Dr. Tasha Golden, author of Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities, and Creative Aging Network-NC.

The Southminster Creative Aging on Prescription pilot will test and document how "prescribing" participation in arts, culture, and community programs can be effective medicine. The initiative will build on global research showing that arts participation supports mental health, reduces loneliness, improves cognitive functioning, and fosters social connection among older populations. 

"At Southminster, we're reimagining how creative aging integrates into senior living," said Tracy McGinnis, Vice President of Philanthropy and Strategic Initiatives. "By embedding evidence-based creative engagement directly into our health and wellness ecosystem—through intentional referral pathways, immersive staff development, and data-driven evaluation—we're building a model that elevates whole-person well-being. Our vision extends beyond our own community: we aim to pioneer a scalable, replicable framework for creative aging that can transform retirement and older adult housing communities across the country."

Wake Forest University and Dr. Golden will design a Creative Aging on Prescription referral system tailored to Southminster's current processes, staff structure and resident needs, as well as supporting staff/clinicians across the campus to implement it. The system will use Southminster's existing health and wellness infrastructure to connect residents to creative aging programs, track participation, and report on measurable health outcomes. Lifetime Arts will lead comprehensive training across teams—including health providers, administrative staff, and program facilitators—ensuring all programming is grounded in evidence-based creative aging best practices that drive positive health outcomes and strengthen social connection.

Creative aging belongs at the heart of livable communities," said Heather Ikemire, Executive Director of Lifetime Arts. "Building on a strong foundation of evidence and informed by our recent policy recommendations, this first-of-its-kind pilot demonstrates how arts on prescription can be fully integrated within a community setting that links on-campus healthcare providers and creative programs in one coordinated "in-house" system. Southminster is modeling an approach that can be adapted and scaled across diverse community-based settings nationwide."

Orientations for the two-year pilot program will begin in March, followed by cataloging existing programs and needs assessment in the spring. Drawing on lessons learned and research from the Southminster pilot, Lifetime Arts and Dr. Tasha Golden will author a practical guide for CCRCs and a wide range of older adult residential communities interested in developing an Arts on Prescription model. The Toolkit will include background and lessons learned and recommendations and practical steps for integrating creative aging into existing health and wellness systems to enhance care within a wide variety of CCRCs.

The co-directors of the new Wake Forest University Neuroarts lab, Christina Hugenschmidt, Associate Professor of Gerontology and Geriatrics and Rebecca E. Shaw Director of the Memory Counseling Program, and Christina Soriano, Reynolds Professor of Dance at Wake Forest University are both excited to work what they call "a dream team of collaborators" on the project. They believe it embodies the work that the Wake Forest University Neuroarts Lab wants to put into the world – real experiences for people that are supported by evidence about how powerful the arts can be for our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. 

LEADING PARTNERS

Southminster
A leader in the field of aging, Southminster is a non-profit, charitable Life Plan Community, providing innovative living solutions to aging across a full continuum of care. Dedicated to overall well-being, Southminster embraces living life with purpose by valuing independence and privacy, inspiring creative passions, encouraging lifelong learning, and motivating each individual's plan for wellness to its highest potential. www.southminster.org.

Wake Forest University
The Wake Forest University team will be led by Christina Soriano and Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt. Christina Soriano has worked at the intersection of Dance and Neuroscience for over 13 years, studying the effects that dance and music can have to improve the balance, mobility, cognition and quality of life of older adults living with neurodegenerative diseases. With her Neuroscience collaborator, Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt, the Christinas have twice received generous support from the National Institutes of Health to conduct dance and aging-focused clinical trials. Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt is a neuroscientist and licensed mental health clinician dedicated to performing research that promotes the well-being of all older adults. Her work focuses on lifestyle interventions, like exercise and the arts, to support brain and body health for older adults and caregivers of people with dementia.

Lifetime Arts
Lifetime Arts is the leading training and advocacy organization for creative aging in the United States with deep experience managing multi-sector partnership initiatives at the local, state and national levels. Since 2008, they have pioneered the field of creative aging—an evidence-based approach that engages people aged 55+ in participatory arts learning and creative engagement programs that promote cognitive vitality, emotional resilience, physical health, and social connection. www.lifetimearts.org 

ADVISORS
Dr. Tasha Golden, Senior Research Advisor
Tasha Golden, PhD is a singer/songwriter turned behavioral scientist, and a leading expert in the role of creativity in health and innovation. She speaks and consults globally on creativity, leadership, well-being, and change. Dr. Golden was the first Director of Research for the International Arts + Mind
Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; she is also adjunct faculty for the University of Florida's
Center for Arts in Medicine.

Creative Aging Network-NC, Local Advisor
Located in Greensboro with partnerships across the state, the Creative Aging Network – NC (CAN-NC), led by Lia Miller, is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to high-quality creative programming for aging adults throughout North Carolina. Professional Teaching Artists lead classes both on the CAN-NC campus and in partnership with aging service providers, offering programs in painting, dance, music, poetry, writing, storytelling, and more. The organization also provides training and educational opportunities for artists, healthcare providers, caregivers, and community leaders, while collaborating with university partners to research and evaluate its original program models.

Contact:
David Jewell
The Jewell Agency
704.996-0165
[email protected]

SOURCE Southminster