Author: Sims, Elaine

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Media Type: Report

Summary:

This paper by Elaine Sims from Gifts of Art at the University of Michigan Health System outlines some of the basics on healing gardens including making the case for gardens at healthcare facilities, how to get started, and health and safety issues.

Abstract:

Restorative Gardens--also referred to as Healing or Contemplative Gardens--have a long history of association with hospitals dating back to the Middle Ages in Europe. They flourished in the Middle Ages, suffered decline with the advent of the plague and the Renaissance, and made a comeback in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the Enlightenment and growth of Romanticism. In most of the 20th century gardens disappeared as medicine became increasingly scientific and focused on cure, not care. Gardens are enjoying a renaissance in the 21st century as hospitals and healthcare centers are seeking ways to enhance the environment of care for their patients, visitors and staff. There are many factors driving this new popularity including competition for patients, the current reliance on patient satisfaction surveys, the proven correlation between staff satisfaction and patient satisfaction, and the costly issues of staff retention. Overall, there is a new aesthetic defining how healthcare centers and hospitals should look and feel.

There have been many new hospitals built beginning in the late 1970’s that replaced older out-dated facilities from the early 20th century. The older of these facilities have aged to the point where entrances are being redesigned and additions built. There is also a trend to build free-standing comprehensive medical centers such as cardiovascular, cancer, pediatric, geriatric, women’s, integrative and so on. A time of remodeling or new construction is the ideal time to design and create garden spaces. It is typically the most cost-effective time to do so. As a result, we are seeing more healing gardens in the plans for these new facilities. In some cases, they are the focal point for the building.

A Healing Garden is a natural extension of a hospital or healthcare center’s mission of care. The effects of nature and the built environment on health and well-being is a rapidly growing area of study, one that has caught the attention of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals and Health Care Organizations (JCAHO). The Joint Commission updated its accreditation standards, which became effective January 1, 2001, to include elements of a supportive environment that are consistent with a healthcare center’s mission and vision, and with the cultural background, age and cognitive abilities of the patients served. JCAHO recognizes orientation and access to nature and the outdoors as key elements that can be significant in their ability to positively influence patient outcomes and satisfaction. A facility’s environment should also support the development and maintenance of the patient’s interests, skills and opportunities for personal growth. Effective management of the environment of care includes using processes and activities to maintain an environment which is sensitive to patient needs for comfort, social interaction, positive distraction, and self-control, and which minimizes unnecessary environmental stresses for patients, visitors and staff.

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