Healing Garden at St. Luke's Hospital Milwaukee
Aurora Health Care Rooftop Garden for Body Mind and Spirit Therapy
Aug 21, 2009
The healing garden at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee is made up of several spaces all growing plants. The outside roof top garden is where patients and visitors are able to enjoy fresh air and a citywide view while sitting among trees, shrubs and perennial plants. The indoor conservatory provides a sheltered spot, from harsh Wisconsin winters or hot humid summers, amid tropical plants and the gentle sounds of flowing water. While patients do not visit the third garden, the planted green roof covering the conservatory further promotes a healthy environment.
Root Top and Conservatory Gardens
The 12,500 square feet rooftop and conservatory gardens contain more than 1900 plants including 19 ornamental trees and 404 tropical plants. It is here patients and visitors are encouraged to come for emotional benefit and relieving stress. The roof top garden is a promenade of seating areas, walkways and gardens encircling the conservatory garden and connecting inside at the main entrance on the hospital’s 8th floor.
The five to eight feet wide smooth sidewalks framed by raised planting beds allow patients to safely wander, while seeing native Amelanchier and Aronia, smelling fragrant Syringa, Viburnum and carpet roses and touching the feathery flowers of Heuchera dancing in the wind.
Outside at one end the brick laid labyrinth can be used for rehabilitation walking. On the opposite side, near the ICU windows, is seen a mischievous iron fish catching a rain chain nearby a Susan Falkman garden sculpture.
The indoor conservatory is filled with the rush of falling water down a simple wall. In contrast, activated by a comical ceramic frog, the sculpted garden turtle quietly spouts water. The bright colors of Codiaeum and Maranta and flowering Hibiscus light up the interior gardens. Many of the foliage plants seen in the conservatory are also found on the much-publicized NASA houseplant list.
Hospital's Self Sustainable Green Roof
The green roof garden that covers the conservatory is a self-sustaining collection of plants. The plant design created will use rainwater making supplemental irrigation unnecessary; meanwhile the gutter will direct excess water down the rain chain. The plants are expected to completely cover the rooftop over the next 2 to 3 years, providing a cooler surface for the conservatory garden.
The sedums chosen for this green roof are short rooted plants. They are hardy enough to withstand Wisconsin winters to zones 3 and 4 and drought tolerant enough to weather hot humid Milwaukee summers.
Healing Garden Gets Leed Certification
Leed is a green building certification program internationally recognized to encourage sustainability. The design and build plans target improving energy savings, improving indoor air quality and efficient use of water. Recently, gold certification was received for the healing garden at St. Luke’s for exceeding standards in use of regional materials.
Native plants such as Carex ‘Silver Scepter’ and drought tolerant plants such as Potenitilla, Nepeta and perennial Geranium are examples of plants chosen for their sustainability. These plants will use the water from the drip irrigation system installed in the rooftop garden more effectively.
In addition to Wisconsin native plants, some plants were nursery grown north of Milwaukee. This makes transportation of the plant material to St. Luke’s less costly economically and in energy consumption.
Other regional materials include the water wall made in Jackson, northwest of Milwaukee and Minnesota limestone. Included in the construction plans was the reclaiming and reusing of building materials such as bricks and glass in the new healing garden.
Patient Care at St. Luke’s Medical Center
St. Luke’s Medical Center has approximately 32,281 annual inpatient discharges, 390,000 outpatient visits, which are seen by over 1,150 physicians and cared for by over 5,000 nurses, reported Myrle Croasdale, Public Relations Manager of Aurora Health Care to Suite101. This Milwaukee hospital is licensed for over 900 beds. Internationally known for expertise in heart care, St. Luke’s Medical Center ranks in the top 10 centers for minimally invasive robotically assisted heart surgery. It is Wisconsin’s leading destination for neuroscience patient care.
Over the years, much has been written and studied about the interaction of humans with plant life. The use of healing gardens, as part of patient care, is one lesson learned. People who are faced with the fast paced high tech environments of modern health care are calmed by contact with plants, gardens and nature in a healing garden such as found at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
