Healthcare « Therapeutic Landscapes Network

Labyrinths for Healthcare: Approach with Caution

May 29, 2015 | by Naomi Sachs

Labyrinth at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital. Photo by Clare Cooper Marcus

St. Joseph Memorial Hospital, Santa Rosa, CA. This labyrinth is appropriate for a healthcare setting since the walking route is relatively short (7-circuit); there are no overlooking windows, and vegetative screening ensures privacy; it is shaded; and a simple explanatory sign explains its use. Photo by Clare Cooper Marcus

This post might invite more invective or controversy than usual (which is usually none, so we’ll see), but it’s something important to discuss: Labyrinths are not always appropriate for healthcare gardens. When they are used, they need to be sited and designed to best benefit garden users. Clare Cooper Marcus and I discuss this issue in our book Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces and some of the text below is excerpted from Chapter 6 (p. 78).

Please understand: I have nothing against labyrinths per se. In fact, in the right place and context, I think they are wonderful and I very much enjoy walking them. The TLN has a page on labyrinths. In our chapter on Gardens for Veterans and Active Duty Personnel, we discuss how labyrinths are used in the therapeutic process (p. 210-211).

First, what is a labyrinth?
The classical labyrinth consists of a continuous path that winds in circles into a center and out again. This basic form dates from antiquity and is intended for contemplative walking. A labyrinth is sometimes erroneously referred to as a maze, which consists of a complex system of pathways between tall hedges, with the purpose of getting people lost. The aim of a maze is playful diversion, whereas the aim of the labyrinth was, and is, to offer the user a walking path of quiet reflection. See this earlier TLN Blog post for more on the distinction between labyrinths and mazes.

Labyrinth at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

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HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2014 – Catch the Earlybird Special!

July 24, 2014 | by Naomi Sachs

Royal terns. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

What: HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2014
When: November 15-18, 2014
Where: San Diego, CA

I always look forward to HEALTHCARE DESIGN, the annual conference produced by Vendome Healthcare Media and the Center for Health Design. There’s only one problem: It’s too good! There are always too many sessions that I want attend. Ah, the agony of choice. Not such a bad thing, really. And this year, it’s in sunny San Diego. The facility tours are sure to be excellent, and the education sessions look great – below are a few that I hope to attend, and one I’ll be speaking at (“Therapeutic Landscapes for Specific Patient Groups”) with my book co-author, Clare Cooper Marcus.

Earlybird registration is open for another two weeks (ends 8/8), so get on it.
Hope to see you there!

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Landscapes for people with cancer – A (former) patient’s point of view. Guest post by Kevan Busa

July 11, 2014 | by Naomi Sachs

Kevan at the lake.

Kevan Busa first contacted me in August of 2012. He was in his last year as an undergraduate in landscape architect at SUNY-ESF, and had been excited about the upcoming semester abroad program in Barcelona, Spain…until he was diagnosed with Leukemia. When he emailed me, he was in his fourth out of five rounds of chemotherapy, and was scheduled to be in Buffalo for three months to get a bone marrow transplant. He wrote, “I talked to my school and doctors and i think that i am going to be doing an independent study of healing spaces while i am there.” Seriously? You plan on doing research while you recover from chemo and a bone marrow transplant? Wow. And he did! His research was subsequently published in the June, 2013 issue of Landscape Architecture magazine. I asked him to write a guest post for the TLN Blog, and he graciously agreed. The post is below.

Looking back at by far the hardest year of my life, I have realized the potential that I have to share my information with the professional world and especially people interested in healing spaces. There is more information being added every day that will help so many people in the future and am honored to be adding my research and experience to the Therapeutic Landscapes Network.

I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and went through a Bone Marrow Transplant within the past year. There was a lot to take in when I got sick and to think about, especially life. Being a landscape architecture student at the State University of New York: College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the topic of healing spaces from within a hospital setting was always on my mind. I went through chemotherapy rounds as the world around me was enjoying summer and the outdoors. All I wanted to do was to be outside when I wasn’t getting treatment.

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Enter now! Landscape Architecture for Healthcare Communities awards

June 27, 2014 | by Naomi Sachs

The stream at Yale-New Haven’s Smilow Cancer Hospital. Design by Towers Golde. Photo by Naomi Sachs

2013 was a momentous year for landscape architecture in healthcare design: It was the first year that Healthcare Design and Environments for Aging held the Landscape Architecture for Healthcare Communities Awards.

The projects were chosen by two different panels of jurors – one for Acute Care (Healthcare Design) and one for Senior Living (Environments for Aging and Long-Term Living). Acute Care and Senior Living project award winners were featured in the December digital issues of Healthcare Design and EFA magazines. Acute Care award winners were also featured in the May/June 2014 print edition and will be honored in November at HEALTHCARE DESIGN14 in San Diego, CA. Senior Living project winners were honored at the Environments for Aging conference in May.

And here’s more good news: They’re doing it again! Submission are due for both categories on July 14, 2014 so get busy with your applications.

This is a terrific opportunity for landscape architects and healthcare facilities with successful therapeutic landscapes to showcase their work, and for everyone else to see the best examples of how it should be done. (more…)

Gardens in Healthcare – Earlybird registration ends 2/1

January 24, 2014 | by Naomi Sachs

Legacy Emanuel Children’s Garden. Photo courtesy Legacy Health

Earlybird registration for Legacy Health’s annual Gardens in Health Care conference ends February first!

The Gardens in Healthcare conference: Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces
When: Fri, April 4, 2014, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Where: Lorenzen Conference Center, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Portland, OR

Featuring the new book: Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces, John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

Speakers:
Marni Barnes, LCSW, ASLA, APATH
Clare Cooper Marcus, M.A., MCP, Hon. ASLA
Teresia Hazen MEd, HTR, QMHP
Duncan R. Neilson, Jr., M.D.
Naomi Sachs, ASLA, EDAC

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Therapeutic Landscape Colloborations Forum

September 30, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Harvey Zarren Healing Gardens at North Shore Medical Center’s Union Hospital, Lynn, MA

October 17 forum on evidenced-based design

What distinguishes a garden from a healing garden? The main difference is the way in which a healing or therapeutic garden caters to its targeted users such as cancer, rehabilitation, psychiatric, or eldercare patients.

At an upcoming forum at Union Hospital in Lynn, Mass., designers, researchers, and healthcare providers will gather to discuss landscapes in healthcare settings that promote health and well-being. “Therapeutic Landscape Collaborations: Successful Evidence-Based Design” will take place October 17, 9 am -12:30 pm, at the North Shore Medical Center’s Union Hospital.

This presentation pairs healthcare providers, researchers and designers that focus on creating healing spaces and restorative landscapes to promote health and well-being. The experts include physicians, therapists, designers, architects and landscape architects whom will demonstrate down to the cellular level why gardens heal, and explore how different aspects to a healing garden can promote healing in different user groups. Examples of healing gardens will be shown and participants will tour the Dr. Harvey Zarren Healing Garden at the site as a case study. The program is sponsored jointly by The Landscape Institute and The Underground in cooperation with the North Shore Medical Centers Plant Operations Department.

Panelists include Harvey Zarren, M.D., F.A.C.C; Christine Wojnar, Feng Shui Institute of American; Elizabeth Ericson, FAIA, LEED AP; Deborah Gaw, Owner, Garden Scapes Landscape Design; Lisa Bailey, ASLA, Bayleaf Studio; David Jay, ASLA, LEED AP, O+M Weinmayer/Jay Associates; and Anna Pelosi, Lead HRO, NSMC Inpatient Psychiatry Services and Manager of Patient and Family Relations Department.

To learn more about the October 17 forum and to register, send an email to pce@the-bac.edu or visit http://the-bac.edu/news-and-events/events/therapeutic-landscape-collaborations-2013.

To learn more about the Harvey Zarren Healing Garden, visit the NSMC website – you can link from there to a nice photo gallery.

Boston Children’s Hospital’s Prouty Garden under threat of demolition. Guest post by Clare Cooper Marcus

September 17, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Boston Children's Hospital Prouty Garden

The Prouty Garden at Boston Children’s Hospital has served as a tranquil green urban oasis since 1956

The Prouty Garden at Boston Children’s Hospital has, for generations of patients, family members, and staff, served as a much-loved retreat from the clinical atmosphere inside. The garden was created in 1956, sponsored by Mrs. Olive Prouty whose two children had died in the hospital. Now it is under threat of demolition as the hospital looks for space to expand on its very urban site.

A petition to save the garden has already garnered over 6,500 signatures, but they need more! Please sign and help spread the word. Newspaper articles and radio reports (see, for example, WBUR and The Boston Globe) have taken up the story to plead for the retention of this irreplaceable green oasis.

A Scientific American article last year called the Prouty Garden “one of the most successful hospital gardens in the country.” Though though constructed long before our research-based knowledge of the critical issues in hospital garden design – it is almost perfect as a restorative space in healthcare. (more…)

ASLA online learning opportunities for landscape architects

September 16, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) is pleased to announce five new Professional Practice Network (PPN) Online Learning live presentations: September 16 – 26, 2013. The PPN Chairs have provided a variety of topics from speakers across the United States. Upcoming presentations are listed below, but full descriptions are located on the PPN Online Learning website.
Free to everyone, but space is limited, so register soon!

The ones in plum will be those of particular interest to this group.

Monday, September 16 at 2pm (eastern)
What’s More Efficient, ET (Weather Stations) or Soil Moisture Sensors in Controlling Irrigation Systems?
Hosted by the Water Conservation PPN

Tuesday, September 17 at 2pm (eastern)
Healthy Youth Development Through Design
Hosted by the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN

Thursday, September 19 at 4pm (eastern)
Bioretention Policies, Practice, and Research
Hosted by the Water Conservation PPN

Wednesday, September 18 at 2pm (eastern)
Landscape Architecture and Healthcare Reform: What the Accountability Care Act Means for Your Healthcare Project
Hosted by the Healthcare and Therapeutic Design PPN

Thursday, September 26 at 4pm (eastern)
SCUP Excellence in Planning and Landscape Architecture 2013 Awards
Hosted by the Campus Planning and Design PPN

Professional development hours (PDHs) will be available free to registered ASLA members. Nonmembers can receive PDHs for a nominal fee.

For more information and to register, visit the PPN Online Learning website.
Free to everyone, but space is limited.
Professional development hours (PDHs) will be available free to registered ASLA members. Nonmembers can receive PDHs for a nominal fee.

THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AWARD FOR HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTS – Applications due 9/20!

September 11, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

I don’t usually make titles all in bold, but this is such an exciting opportunity, I wanted to grab your attention.

Vendome Group, publisher of Healthcare Design, Environments for Aging and Behavioral Healthcare, is excited to announce our inaugural The Landscape Architecture Award for Healthcare Environments!

Landscape Architecture projects will be featured in a special digital magazine that will reach more than 80,000 readers.

Highlights of this program include:

An ideal audience: Projects will be seen by Architects, Designers, Administrators, C-Suite Executives within healthcare communities, and more.
Recognition for exceptional landscape architecture and design within 3 categories: Acute Care, Senior Living and Behavioral Healthcare.
A low entry fee: Cost to enter is only $350 per project.
Expert Panelists: A jury of industry experts will choose one winner and runner-up within each of the 3 categories to be published in the digital magazine.

Award winners and runners-up will receive:

A 2-page spread, at no cost, featured in the digital magazine.
A prestigious award engraved with the firm and facility names; and
Editorial coverage in 2014.

All other firms with accepted projects will have the option to include their project in the digital magazine for a nominal fee.

As the Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, I can’t tell you how excited I am about this program. Oh, wait, I just did.

Applications are due SOON – 9/20/13 so pull your material together and submit it!

To learn more, visit: www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/page/landscape-architecture-awards-healthcare-environments

Drs. Ulrich and Donovan: Health Benefits of Nearby Nature

August 27, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Portland Memory Garden, Portland, OR. Photo by Patty Cassidy

Health Benefits of Nearby Nature
Drs. Roger S. Ulrich and Geoffrey Donovan
Thursday, September 12, 2013, 7 – 9 p.m.
Portland State University’s Hoffmann Hall
1833 SW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR

Many evidence-based researchers, Dr. Roger S. Ulrich among them, have found that purposefully-designed gardens in healthcare settings improve health outcomes for patients. But did you know that there is a quantifiable relationship between the presence of trees and public health? In his research, Dr. Geoffrey Donovan has found that to be the case. Both Ulrich and Donovan will talk on the Health Benefits of Nearby Nature, Thursday September 12 , 2013 at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Ulrich has found that patients who view “representations” of nature can also find relief from stress and discomfort. For example, heart surgery patients at a Swedish hospital intensive care unit experienced reduced anxiety and less need for pain medication by looking at pictures depicting trees and water. Over the years, Ulrich’s work has received many awards and has directly impacted the design of billions of dollars of hospital construction, and improved the health outcomes and safety of patients worldwide. The Sweden-based professor and former director of the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M University, developed a Theory of Evidence-Based Design; his theory has become influential as a scientifically grounded guide for creating successful healthcare facilities. Ulrich will discuss his recent work involving the effects of single- versus multi-bed patient rooms on infection transmission; the negative impacts of hospital noise on patients and nurses; and how nature, gardens, and art can lessen pain, stress, and healthcare costs.

Ulrich’s co-presenter, Dr. Donovan, is a research forester with the USDA Forest Service who has quantified a wide range of urban-tree benefits. These have ranged from intuitive benefits— for example, reduced summertime cooling costs—to less intuitive benefits such as crime reduction. His recent findings on the relationship between trees and public health, for instance, show that mothers with trees near their homes are less likely to have underweight babies. He has also shown a connection between trees destroyed by invasive pests and a higher human death rate from cardiovascular and lower-respiratory disease.