Where Wellness Meets the Arts

AdventHealth and Dr. Phillips Center logo

Our partnership with the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts allows us to explore the intersection of wellness and the arts. We believe that the arts — and especially participating in arts education — opens the door to wellness and healing. For anyone, at any age and any stage in life, being involved in the performing arts challenges the body, strengthens the mind and stimulates the imagination.

The AdventHealth School of the Arts

We believe the performing arts can benefit artists ages 3 to 103 by helping them grow their talents, find community and share their unique gifts in a safe space.

That's why AdventHealth is furthering the development of these artists, especially the youth in our community, through arts education at the AdventHealth School of the Arts at the Dr. Phillips Center. We're also committed to supporting individual students with scholarships to keep artists, dancers, singers and performers feeling whole.

Hear from two students about how their involvement within the AdventHealth School of the Arts offered them a place to learn, create and have fun.

Learn More About the School

AdventHealth School of the Arts Student Spotlight

Julian Villela

Julian Villela

Julian, Young Simba in the Broadway North American Tour of “The Lion King,” credits the AdventHealth School of the Arts with helping him learn professionalism and develop his focus during auditions.

Read Julian’s Story
Cole Higginbotham

Cole Higginbotham

Cole is a student at the AdventHealth School of the Arts, training as a triple-threat dancer, actor and singer. He shared that the arts have impacted him in such a way that they are his “source of motivation, peace, happiness and connection to the world.”

Learn More About Cole
Annika Franklin

Annika Franklin

From enrolling in the AdventHealth School of the Arts to her Broadway debut in “The Lion King,” Annika shared, "Your musical theater family becomes a second family with friendships and memories that last a lifetime.”

View Annika’s Story

Bringing You Broadway in Orlando

AdventHealth is honored to be the Presenting Sponsor of the 2024-2025 Broadway Season at the Dr. Phillips Center, where you can experience the acclaimed performances you love right here in Orlando.

AdventHealth’s Performer Health Program

AdventHealth’s Performer Health Program is the only program of its kind in Central Florida. Our specially trained providers are passionate about performing arts medicine and have extensive experience treating performers and their unique conditions. They help educate and prevent performance-related injuries, caring for artists when the unexpected happens —knowing the show must go on.

Jason Epstein, MD

Dr. Epstein is a board-certified physician specializing in sports medicine. He completed his residency in family medicine at Inspira Healthcare Network in Woodbury, NJ, and followed with a sports medicine fellowship at Halifax Health. He currently serves as the head team physician for the Orlando Solar Bears and works closely with professional wrestling and the performing arts.

Learn More About Dr. Epstein

David Hirsch, MD

Dr. David Hirsch is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and wrist conditions. His areas of expertise include hand and wrist pathology, nerve and tendon disorders, wrist and elbow arthritis. He also provides expert fracture care for a variety of orthopaedic injuries.

Learn More About Dr. Hirsch

Ainslee Juarbee, MD

Ainslee Juarbe, MD, is a board-certified family medicine physician. After graduating with honors from University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, Dr. Juarbe received her medical degree from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, in Tampa, FL. She went on to complete a residency at Morsani College of Medicine.

Learn More About Dr. Juarbee

Jeffrey J. Lehman, MD

Make an appointment with Jeffrey J Lehman, MD at AdventHealth now, find contact information and more. Your AdventHealth team is dedicated to providing whole-person care that heals your body, strengthens your mind and lifts your spirit. You deserve to feel whole.

Learn More About Dr. Lehman

Brian C. Spector, MD

Dr. Brian C. Spector focuses his practice on adult and pediatric otolaryngology as well as skull-based tumors. Since 2004, he has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been involved in various research and teaching roles with numerous publications and presentations around the country to his credit. He has also been consistently named as one of the area’s “Top Doctors” by Orlando Magazine.

Learn More About Dr. Spector

A Symphony of Healing

AdventHealth and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts partnered with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to bring STROKESTRA®, a groundbreaking, international medical research program, to Orlando. The stroke rehabilitation program in Steinmetz Hall featured a learning exchange session between the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra members and AdventHealth Rehab and Music Therapy teams. The teams had the opportunity to share practices and ideas before engaging in the STROKESTRA® workshop with local stroke survivors and their caregivers.

Learn More About AdventHealth's Stroke Care

Innovative Care Starts With Groundbreaking Research

Our research with the Dr. Phillips Center is just one of the ways we’re seeking to improve the lives of people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

AdventHealth researchers are passionate about whole-person health. Learn more about our memory loss study, which is dedicated to understanding how the performing arts impact those with memory loss and their caregivers.

AdventHealth Services Offered at the Center

First Aid Station

We're here for you when the unexpected happens. You can receive medical support on Tier 1, directly across from the concierge desk. If you or your loved one are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, please call 911.

Sensory-Friendly Spaces

In partnership with the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, we created sensory-friendly spaces for shows along with a "quiet room" program. This new resource provides guests with items they can bring into the theater, including fidget tools, weighted blankets or ear protection.

Sensory-friendly environments and tools help guests with sensory processing disorders enjoy live performances by decreasing or increasing stimulation as needed. These options are very helpful for people with anxiety, ADHD, dementia/Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder and, most of all, for people on the autism spectrum.

Blogs and Articles

A group of people performing on stage.

Meet the Four Counts and Quarter Notes

The AdventHealth School of the Arts fosters artistic excellence and creativity through diverse classes, camps, productions and performance groups. Meet a few members of the Four Counts and Quarter Notes and read how the arts are transforming their lives.

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A woman strumming a guitar.

Bringing the Arts to the Community During COVID-19

Learn how the arts brought our community together and fostered joy through live entertainment at a time when we needed it most.

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A couple discusses memory loss.

DAVOS Alzheimer’s Collaborative Study

When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, we believe you deserve answers earlier to stay well ahead of memory issues for longer. That’s why the AdventHealth Research Institute has joined forces with global partners to revolutionize Alzheimer’s care through the DAVOS Alzheimer’s Collaborative study.

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