Auburn, Oregon
This seacoast community hospital undertook the addition of a Medical Office Building with landscaping that would be salt tolerant and colorful. Our plantings included numerous perennials, ornamental grasses and seacoast plantings. The sandy soils were also taken into consideration for irrigation purposes.
The Providence – Portland Medical Group Office Building located on Interstate Avenue in Portland Oregon had limited landscaping to it. We provided an interesting mix of ornamental grasses and screening plants for this tight site. The project was recognized for it’s architectural design by the AIA.
Madras, Oregon
Mountain View Hospital undertook a new addition and remodel of the existing building and acute care unit in Madras, Oregon. Our approach was to update the appearance of the grounds to reflect the Central Oregon landscape in a sustainable way. Our careful selection of native, cold and drought tolerant plants, local broken top stone and river rock helped to mimic the surrounding landscape. Rooftop runoff was dropped into a naturalized creek bed which flowed into dry wells.
Brookings, Oregon
Our goal for this medical center project was to retain as much of the existing, native vegetation on site as possible and to incorporate a majority of native plants into the new landscaping. Site features included a “stormwater feature”, which will replicate a natural stream bed with multiple water falls; a healing garden located adjacent to the main lobby, which will serve as a viewing garden and outdoor gathering space; and an outdoor patio space for staff. The project is currently pursuing LEED Silver.
The healthcare systems have begun to recognize the benefits that nature can bring when incorporated into a Healing Garden within their Medical Centers. This realization has been supported by statistics showing that there are direct and beneficial health outcomes attributed to access and views to nature. The evidence as it relates to gardens has proven to the healthcare community that patients heal faster, need fewer medications, lowers stress levels for staff and administrators, and develop more favorable image of the medical center1 in Communities nearby. These all translate in more income to the healthcare providers. These health and capital outcomes have raised the priority for all healthcare systems to include healing gardens, therapeutic gardens, outdoor gathering areas and a wide variety of opportunities to access nature on new expansion projects.
I tend to address these and Healing Environments because there are so many different types of garden areas found on the medical center campus’ all of which contribute to a healing outcome. The Healing Garden though, is one that should be central to the campus with access to multiple facility buildings. At Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, the healing garden is central to the Heart Center, Ambulatory Services Center, the new West Tower and main hospital. It offers opportunities for many participants to take a break, find respite, watch the waterfalls and garden landscape, or get physical therapy. The healing garden will provide patients, visitors and staff access to Nature and its power to heal.
The Healing Environment Master Plan was developed to guide the Samaritan Health Services facilities in the provision of healing environments on a system-wide basis and delivered site specific needs. Understanding what constitutes a “healing garden” is the foundation of this plan.
A philosophy was developed to identify these “Each of the Samaritan Health Systems facilities incorporates healing principles into the environment, ensuring the presence of tranquility, beauty, comfort, and safety for the benefit of patients, families, visitors and staff. Now we were able to identify the different types of healing environments like; Borrowed Landscape, Covered Garden, Front Entry, Landscape Grounds, Meditation Gardens, Healing Gardens, Therapeutic Gardens and etc.
Each of five community hospitals and two senior communities were visited and evaluated with regard to the condition of the landscape, the access to nature and what kinds of healing environments existed and were lacking.
The Master Plan developed a system-wide action plan which identified healing gardens, healing environment and specific opportunities to be pursued that elevate the level of healing environment development throughout the system. These were then costed out and prioritized so that funding sources could be identified.
McMinnville, Oregon
Our landscape design for the new Oncology Center at Willamette Valley Hospital features views to the natural environment from the treatment rooms while careful placement of ornamenal trees screen the patients from view, a fully landscaped therapeutic health track with picnic tables for visitor and staff breaks, and a donor funded birdbath and fountain.
Oregon City, Oregon
A new ER, Imaging and Pharmacy addition provided the opportunity to re-image and unify the whole campus landscape. Patients now feel more connected with their natural environment through beautiful views and visitors are greeted with a soothing water feature and entry plaza where families can sit and wait for loved ones.
Klamath Falls, Oregon
The Sky Lakes Medical Center incorporated a number of Healing Environments both inside and out. Visitors are greeted in the lobby with a beautiful courtyard garden and water screen. Here the lobby completely surrounds this garden with views and access to the natural setting. A center piece of this design is a 5,700 square foot healing garden on the second floor. It features a variety of seating areas, a shading arbor, quiet meditation areas, as well a labyrinth, all on the rooftop over the operating rooms. Another rooftop terrace which overlooks the lobby courtyard is for the staff so they can get some fresh air and a break from their duties. All of these gardens and the site landscaping were designed with plantings that were tolerant of the cold winters and hot summers characteristic of the Klamath Falls region.
Milwaukie, Oregon
For Providence Health System in Milwaukie, we designed the landscaping of the new Medical Office Building (Healing Place) to reflect the local characteristics of the neighborhood were we created a delicate mixture of flowering plants and ornamental grasses. We were also challenged with the task of creating a beautiful Healing Garden a short stroll from the entrance of the building.
“Kudos’ on a great job at the MOB! The landscaping looks great. The location and variety of plant materials is beautiful and I think it’s a gem… The Healing Garden also worked out terrific. I think the scale is right on and the small size worked as an advantage…”
Scott W. Harris, AIA
Roseburg VA Medical Center Acute Psychiatric Facility:
Rose Villa:
This 24 acre Senior Community will offer a variety of sustainable design elements including greenroofs, rooftop gardens, stormwater collection into cisterns and naturalized creeks that will flow down through the site to wetland retention ponds.
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Van Vista Senior Living Tower:
Van Vista is undergoing a renovation to the first floor dining and exterior patio areas. We will be providing the landscape and irrigation design for this expansion and an additional parking lot.
