Siskin Hospital brings respite and rehabilitation outdoors

With the opening of a new garden, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation in Chattanooga, Tenn., offers patients a curated venue for therapeutic treatment. Grady’s Garden, the first of five planned gardens at the hospital and named after local civic and philanthropic leader Grady Williams, was designed to provide an environment that supports healing through nature and sensory stimulation.

Hospital leaders had a clear vision for updating their existing garden space with the intention of bringing therapeutic and rehabilitative activities outdoors. Barge Design Solutions Inc., a multidisciplinary design firm based in Nashville, Tenn., was hired to create a master plan that inventoried and defined areas for improvement. Once those concepts were approved, Barge developed construction documents for the project’s first phase.

Matt Stovall, client services lead for Barge Design and principal-in-charge for Siskin’s project, explains that the design was shaped by input from Siskin management, staff, donors and others.

“Our main interaction was with the physical therapists to make sure that we were incorporating therapeutic elements into each zone,” Stovall says.

Therapeutic elements include multiple surfaces, from gravel paths to stonework to pavement, and distinct transitions between pathway surfaces, steps and ramps. Navigating these changes pushes patients to improve balance, stability and muscle strength. In addition, the distances along paths are marked so that patients can measure progress and track improvement. Raised garden beds and easy-to-reach hanging baskets allow patients to actively build strength and dexterity.

Barge also recommended plants with varying colors, textures and scents, layered across sunny and shady areas, for a horticultural therapy experience, promoting sensory stimulation.

“These serene outdoor areas will be integrated into our actual therapy routines for our patients as well as offer a place where they, along with visitors and hospital associates, can enjoy quiet moments of meditation,” says Matthew Gibson, Ph.D., FACHE, president and CEO at Siskin Hospital.