Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

Creating Healthcare Gardens That Heal

School of the Chicago Botanic Garden Offers One-of-a-Kind
Certificate Program

 

Media Only:
Julie McCaffrey
(847) 835-8213
jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org

GLENCOE, Ill. (Nov. 6, 2008)—The School of the Chicago Botanic Garden is offering a Healthcare Garden Design Certificate of Merit, the only program of its kind in the country, from May 6 through May 13, 2009.

Healthcare garden design is an emerging area of specialization in which several professions converge to create environments of care. The Garden’s multi-disciplinary, professional development program provides landscape architects, garden designers, architects, interior designers, healthcare facility administrators, medical practitioners, horticultural therapists and graduate students in related fields with the opportunity to discover the varied types and uses of healthcare gardens.

Over an eight-day period, students discover effective ways to apply current research in evidence-based design to achieve patient health outcomes. They learn to design garden environments of care that maximize the effectiveness of clinical treatments for illness and disabilities, and to create passive garden experiences that have positive outcomes for patients, family, visitors and staff.

“Mounting evidence suggests that healthcare gardens can pay generous dividends in reducing patient stress, increasing patient satisfaction and enhancing staff retention,” said Roger Ulrich, Ph.D., director, Center for Health Systems and Design, Texas A&M University. “These and other key benefits are best achieved if garden design has been informed by sound evidence showing how garden characteristics affect medical outcomes. An investment in the specialization of evidence-based garden design will provide major advantages in today’s patient-centered marketplace.”

Program instruction will be provided by experts from all professions involved in creating healthcare gardens. There will be lectures, group projects, case studies and field trips to healthcare facilities in greater Chicago.

Cost for the certificate program is $2,995 for registrations received or postmarked before April 1, 2009. Cost is $3,249 after April 1. To provide an optimal learning environment, registration is limited to 24 participants. For more information about the Healthcare Garden Design Certificate of Merit Program, visit the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Web site at www.chicagobotanic.org/certificate/hgd, or contact Amelia Simmons-Hurt at (847) 835-8293 or school@chicagobotanic.org.

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Editors, please note: The Chicago Botanic Garden's newsroom is online at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr. For digital images, contact Julie McCaffrey at (847) 835-8213 or at jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the green treasures of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 23 distinct display gardens surrounded by lakes, as well as a prairie and woodlands. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $15; free for members. On Tuesdays, senior citizens age 62 and older pay just $7 for parking. The Garden is located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Ill. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972 and is home to the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a broad array of adult classes in plant science, landscape design and gardening arts. Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Garden scientists work on plant conservation, research and environmental initiatives that have global impact. The Center for Teaching and Learning brings the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens and teachers. The Garden's Horticultural Therapy and Community Gardening programs provide nationally recognized community outreach and service programs. The Garden is also breaking new ground in urban horticulture and jobs training through a 15-acre project in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago called Windy City Harvest. The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). In 2006, the Chicago Botanic Garden received the Award for Garden Excellence, given yearly by the APGA and Horticulture magazine to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices and has shown a commitment to supporting and demonstrating best gardening practices.