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The Healing Garden
At a glanceType: The garden area is a natural environment based on Japanese design techniques. Size: 11,250-square-foot Features: The garden includes three large waterfalls, fully mature trees, pathways, lighting features throughout the garden, a covered patio, two Japanese-style gazebos and handmade benches. Location: The garden can be viewed from four different wings of the hospital: The Emenhiser Center, the Girod Birth Center, classrooms in the new Health Career and Training Center and the cafeteria hallway where staff, patients and visitors can enjoy the garden. The designer
Kurisu is a strong believer in the powerful benefits nature can have on human healing. His work with the SLCH Healing Garden was recently honored with a national First-Place award in the Healthcare Environment Award Competition from the Center for Health Design. Evidence-based design
Viewing a garden has the ability to reduce stress in employees and others within less than five minutes demonstrated by indicators such as blood pressure, heart activity, muscle tension and brain electrical activity (Ulrich et al., 1991). There is growing scientific evidence that viewing gardens can measurably reduce patient stress and improve health outcomes (Ulrich, 2002). The Emenhiser Infusion Therapy Center
The sophisticated 2,500 square foot Emenhiser Center represents the culmination of the garden project. It offers state-of-the-art infusion therapy stations and monitoring equipment in a facility expressly designed to provide patients every advantage in their care. Several of the treatment areas feature floor-to-ceiling views of the healing garden. A special microphone system, still under development, will allow patients to hear the gentle sounds of the garden’s waterfalls and wind rustling through the Japanese black pines. Modern Healthcare magazine recently recognized the Emenhiser Center as one of the top health care design projects in the nation for 2006. Donald Emenhiser, MDAlmost thirty years ago, Donald Emenhiser, MD, joined the medical staff at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital as an Emergency Department physician. In March of 2004, Dr. Emenhiser was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died at his home on Feb. 10, 2005 at the age of 61. Those who worked with Dr. Emenhiser over the years speak of him as a quiet, gentle man who could put his patients at ease simply by being in the room with them. In appreciation for the years of outstanding leadership and service Dr. Emenhiser gave to the hospital and community, the Emenhiser Center is named in his honor.The FoundationThe healing garden has been paid for by donations to the Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation. A generous bequest from the Dora Kellenberger Hall Estate and a $100,000 pledge contribution from the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital Auxiliary funded nearly seventy-five percent of the cost. The remaining funds were donated by a variety of board and community members and hospital employees. The Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation is a 501(C)(3) charitable, tax-exempt institution. The 26-member Board of Trustees meets quarterly to assess its stewardship of hospital assets and to help the hospital stay on the leading edge of rural health care. The Foundation office can be reached at 451-7063. For more information, click on the link below. SHS - Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation |
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Hoichi Kurisu, an internationally acclaimed landscape designer, developed and directed the construction of the healing garden. Kurisu, whose company is called Kurisu International, has offices in Portland and Lake Worth, Fla. He has been recognized by President Ronald Reagan and President George Bush, senior, during his more than 30 years of design work. 
Known as a research leader in the field of effective hospital design, Roger Ulrich, Ph.D. of Texas A&M University, believes that use of natural environments in medical facilities can further patient healing. He published a study in 1984 entitled “View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery.” The study looked at two sets of patients recovering from the same procedure—one group that had a view of a natural setting and one with a view of a brick wall. The study found that the patients with the natural view received fewer moderate and strong pain narcotic doses, lower scores for minor post surgical complications and shorter hospital stays.
The Emenhiser Center, which provides infusion therapy services, rests within the unique healing garden, bringing the elements of a natural environment directly to the practice of high-quality modern medicine. 