Healing Gardens

This is the lobby of OSF St Anthony's in Rockford. Here is the roof top garden at St Lukes Medical Center.

A panoramic downtown Milwaukee view, lush greenery and a calming fountain greet visitors to the rooftop healing garden at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center. These are among the sights and sounds awaiting guests at the newly opened Vince Lombardi Charitable Funds Healing Garden and the Agnes and Morland Hamilton Healing Conservatory.
The thought is that they want patients and their families to have a tranquil, calm oasis they can come to when they are at the hospital We go to a hospital for medical care to heal our bodies. This garden gives them a place to find spiritual healing as well. The results are fantastic just the way it was planned.
The 14,000-square-foot healing garden, on an eighth floor rooftop, includes a 4,000-square-foot glass conservatory for year-round access to the garden's trees, shrubs, flowers and water features. The sweeping view includes Miller Park, downtown Milwaukee and Lake Michigan.
The project was designed with ideas from patients and caregivers. Pathways are from 5 to 8 feet wide to accommodate hospital beds and wheelchairs. To encourage reflection there is a paved labyrinth and several works of art. Water features include an interactive fountain pool and an 8-by-11 foot water wall.
The garden contains more than 1,900 plants and has several environmentally friendly features, such as a green roof on the conservatory.

When my first husband was dying from cancer in his last days I found that I wasn't breathing right. I was holding my breath and my shoulders were rigid. I was so distraught that I stopped at the desk, on my way out, and talked to the volunteer. She was the first person I saw who I could talk to. I told her about my breathing and she said that she thought I was just stressed. She told me to go to the hospital's labyrinth...to walk. Some go there to meditate, pray or get in touch with their spiritual sides. Others go there just to relax or take a peaceful break from a hectic day. The winding brick labyrinth behind Provena St. Joseph Hospital on Elgin's west side allows those who walk it a temporary escape from the world and often some insight into their souls, according to those who've used it.
The 36-foot-wide pathway, which has been featured in an Australian book, became the first labyrinth at a Midwest hospital when it was built in 2000. Originally at the St. Joseph Wellness Center, the labyrinth recently was moved and rebuilt at the main hospital campus on North Airlite Street.

The hospital where I was just a patient has a little garden just to the left of where you enter. It is small, with a fountain, statue, and benches. It is there to be used by the public. Seasonal Flowers are planted there for all to enjoy.

It seems that gardens are a place of beauty and make us relax just to be there. I find that in working in my garden, I forget the days problems...I am at peace there. Maybe that's why so many gardens are being planted in hospitals. If you are hospitalized, ask to be taken to the garden.

Balisha