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How plantshelp patientsheal at Legacy’stherapeutic gardens

How plantshelp patientsheal at Legacy’stherapeutic gardens

8 Boom! November 2010

BY JANIE NAFSINGERBOOM! editor

Pat McKenzie rolls herwheelchair alongside araised bed of herbs, plucksa sprig of thyme and holdsit to her nose. She closes

her eyes and takes in the fragrance, asmile lighting her face as she sings aline from the song “ScarboroughFair”: “Parsley, sage, rosemary andthyme …”

Sister Pat, as she likes to be called —she’s a nun who lives at St. IgnatiusParish in Southeast Portland — visitsthe Stenzel Healing Garden at LegacyGood Samaritan Hospital as often asshe can as part of the therapy she isreceiving for a spinal cord injury.

At least every other day she leavesher room to visit this quiet oasis outsidethe lobby of the Northwest Portlandhospital. She might water some of theplants or run a rake through a gardenbed. Sometimes she takes a flower cut-ting back to her hospital room.

A garden “quiets your anxieties, yourdoubts, your fears,” Sister Pat says. “Itkind of puts you in another world. Youdon’t think about your pain, your dis-ability, the possibility you’ll never walkagain.

“Wherever I go, I find a plant, andI’m happy.”

The power of plantsThough healing gardens have been

around since ancient times, horticultur-al therapy — the treatment of patientswith gardening activities led by trainedtherapists — is “a young professionthat continues to develop,” says Teresia,Hazen, Legacy’s registered horticultur-al therapist.

The history of horticultural therapyin the United States dates back toWorld War II, when returning soldierssuffering from physical and psycholog-ical disorders were referred to green-house programs and outdoor garden-ing, Hazen says. “Outdoor gardeninghas been used in psychiatric programssince the early 1800s,” she adds.

The American Horticulture TherapyAssociation was founded in 1973, andits Northwest chapter was establishedin the early 1990s. As coordinator ofLegacy’s horticulture therapy program,she also oversees all nine Legacy ther-apeutic gardens at several medical cen-ters, trains and supervises the gardenvolunteers, and leads rehab therapygroups for Legacy patients.

Gardening benefits the body, mindand spirit in dozens of ways, Hazensays. It exercises the hands, fingers andarms, builds stamina and coordination,and pleases the senses. It exercisesattention span and stimulates under-standing of such abstract concepts astime, growth, death and change. Itmotivates people to work cooperativelyand fosters social activities such as gar-den clubs. It builds self-esteem and liftsthe spirits.

“We need to use it in every special-education class and senior center in thecountry,” says Hazen, 61, a Vancouver,Wash., resident who taught special edu-cation in Seattle before becoming ahorticulture therapist, the first in thePortland area. She joined Legacy in1991 and later earned a gerontologycertificate.

“Our objective is to keep peopleengaged,” she says. “Every one of ourseniors needs to be outdoors. Doctors

Gardens of healingTherapeutic gardens help renew the bodyand spirit at Legacy Health System

See GARDENS, next page

Teresia Hazen, horticultural therapist with Legacy Health System, works with patient PatMcKenzie in the Stenzel Healing Garden at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in NorthwestPortland. Horticultural therapy is part of McKenzie’s therapy as she undergoes rehabilita-tion for a spinal cord injury.

The StenzelHealingGarden atLegacy GoodSamaritanHospital isopen to thepublic 24hours a day,seven days aweek.

photos by JIM CLARK/Pamplin MediaGroup

November 2010 Boom! 9

tell us we need exposure to sunshine everyday, and studies show how our moodimproves in light.”

At Good Samaritan, Hazen works withpatients recovering from stroke, braininjuries and motor vehicle accidents,patients coping with Parkinson’s disease ormultiple sclerosis and those withAlzheimer’s disease. Horticulture therapytakes place in the Stenzel Healing Gardenor at the hospital’s “indoor garden” — atable around which patients gather fortabletop gardening activities. They havestarted plants from cuttings, planted paperwhites (a narcissus species) to take homeand studied African violets.

“They’re just so amazed they can be sit-ting in the hospital doing gardening,”Hazen says.

The patients also appreciate the opportu-nity to focus on something other than thereason they’re in the hospital, she says. “It’skind of nice to retrieve your successes afterso much talk about what doesn’t work.”

During therapy with Alzheimer’spatients, “the goal is seasonal orientation,”she says. They might not remember whatday or month it is, so the therapy incorpo-rates objects representing the seasons —leaves and apples during autumn, for exam-ple. Hazen keeps the activities simple:“Passing a flower around the table exercis-es range of motion, paying attention, fol-lowing directions and being social,” shesays.

A blossoming new fieldHorticultural therapy began requiring

college training in 2008, Hazen says. Thatyear, Legacy Health System entered a part-nership with Portland CommunityCollege’s gerontology program to offer hor-

ticulture therapy courses and certification.Hazen, on top of her other jobs, teaches allthe classes in the 18-month program.

Lynne Cook, a PCC gerontology student,began taking the horticulture therapy class-es this past summer. The 55-year-oldBeaverton resident worked as a computeranalyst for 31 years before deciding shewanted a new career.

“ I don’t want to code anymore; I want towork with people,” Cook says. “I’ve alwaysloved plants and the outdoors. I knew Iwanted to go into healthy programs.”

After earning her certification, Cook willlook for a job in a setting where she canwork with patients, “where I can help peo-ple be better.”

‘Gardening into our 100s’Dorothy Hancock, a Southeast Portland

resident recovering from a stroke, also hasmade horticultural therapy part of her reha-bilitation at Good Samaritan.

“I enjoy every bit of this therapy,”Hancock says. “I like the quiet of gardeningand the fresh air. It’s relaxing, being in theelements.”

She and Pat McKenzie both are garden-ers, so Hazen suggests ways they can adapttheir gardening practices to their physicalabilities. Planting raised beds, for example— and planting smaller gardens.

“Instead of 25 tomato plants,” Hazenasks the two patients, “how many areenough?”

Hancock and McKenzie consider for amoment. “Three,” they agree.

“How many zucchini plants?” Hazenasks.

“One plant,” Hancock replies.Hazen nods. “You’ve got to work

smarter, not harder,” she says.“To keep gardening into our 80s, 90s and

100s, we need to adapt, following thecycles of nature,” she adds. “This naturestuff works.”

GARDENSContinued from previous page

Volunteer at a Legacy therapeutic gardenSueStegmiller,

a retiredmentalhealth

profes-sional,

volunteersat the

StenzelHealing

Garden atLegacy

GoodSamaritan

Hospital.

contributedphoto

Legacy Health’s therapeutic gardensrely on volunteers for a variety of proj-ects and tasks, including garden main-tenance and watering, planting proj-ects, fund development, public rela-tions, obtaining supplies, computerwork, scheduling volunteers andassisting with workshop trainings.

Two of Legacy’s nine therapeuticgardens will hold information meet-ings in the coming months forprospective volunteers. Pre-registra-tion is required. Attendees will tour the

garden, learn about the requirementsfor the volunteer program and havetheir questions answered. Individualappointments for interviews, volunteerapplications and training will takeplace later.

The following information sessionwill be held at Legacy Good SamaritanHospital in Northwest Portland:

• Monday, Nov. 15, 10 to 11 a.m.Call the Good Samaritan Hospital

Volunteer Office at 503-413-7012 tolet the hospital know you plan to attend

and to obtain the meeting location.The following information sessions

are scheduled at Legacy Mount HoodMedical Center in Gresham:

• Tuesday, Nov. 16, 10 to 11 a.m.• Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, 9 to 10

a.m.• Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, 11 a.m.

to noon.Call the Mount Hood Medical

Center Volunteer Office at 503-674-1217 to schedule a session and obtainthe meeting location.

TOP: Teresia Hazen tends to plants in Legacy GoodSamaritan’s indoor garden, where horticultural therapy ses-sions also take place.

ABOVE: Dr. Gary Monzon, M.D., naps during a break in theStenzel Healing Garden at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospitalin Northwest Portland.

LEFT: Good Samaritan’s Stenzel Healing Garden attractssuch wildlife as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.