Samaritan Health Services

Meet a difference maker: Hoichi Kurisu

Hoichi Kurisu, president and principal landscape designer at Kurisu International, is a busy man. His world-renowned work in creating Japanese-style healing gardens regularly fills his schedule with global travel. But Kurisu has a very special relationship with the small town of Lebanon, and specifically with its hospital.

It is in Lebanon that Kurisu designed and created an 11,250-square foot healing garden at the center of the hospital, placing each boulder by hand as it was lowered by crane. The garden has gone on to win international press coverage and awards.

And it is in Lebanon that Kurisu decided to do something very special for the new Samaritan Health Sciences Campus, under construction across from the hospital. He donated his time, in addition to materials such as large Japanese maples, to create a 30,000-square foot entrance garden to the campus. The accumulation of Kurisu’s donated time and resources resulted in an in-kind gift of $113,000 to the Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation.

“Lebanon is growing,” Kurisu said, “and has tremendous potential for more growth in the future. As change occurs, it’s important to grow sustainably, strengthening community at each step. Healing gardens unite people with nature, with each other, and to the global community.”