Open to the sky, the Howard Hanna Healing Garden at the new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
will be just steps away from the Elsa M. and Alma E. Mueller Family Resource Center, a “town square” filled with libraries, family and reading lounges, the Eat’n Park Atrium, the chapel and an extended-hours playroom, among other amenities — all features of a pediatric hospital dedicated to family-centered care. “Studies demonstrate the connection between improved healing with exposure to nature,” says Roger A. Oxendale, Children’s CEO and president of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. “In our experience, healing is also enhanced when families are involved and our young patients’ lives are kept as normal as possible.”
The Healing Garden will enable patients and their families to go outside without ever leaving the building, and sit among the plants and flowers while taking in an expansive view of Pittsburgh from its sixth-floor vantage point. Studies show that children with access to light and greenery often have shorter hospital stays and need fewer medications.
“This is all part of our mission to meet the needs of our children and their families while providing the most advanced treatment available,” says Mr. Oxendale.
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