Dr. Janice Johnston has been an advocate for blues musician health since becoming involved with The Blues Foundation in 2013. As the chairperson of The Blues Foundation’s HART Fund, Dr. Johnston has worked tirelessly to expand the offerings of this fund, which was established to ensure that blues musicians can get the resources needed to secure healthcare for both acute and chronic conditions. She spearheads the free health screenings originally held as part of the International Blues Challenge and Blues Music Awards and that now has expanded to other music festivals and conferences. Dr. Johnston regularly negotiates on behalf of musicians to lower their costs for services and seeks outpatient assistance programs so that musicians can independently continue their care. She also helped develop teams of volunteers in Memphis, Nashville, Las Vegas, and other cities, along with coordinating the hiring of registered nurses to support the program where volunteers were not available. Blues musicians the world over continue to benefit from her ongoing health advocacy on their behalf.
