Calming space

The McQuown Family Healing Garden, the forecourt garden adjacent to the new Emergency Department and Surgery Center, is one of the newest spaces on the Sonoma Valley Hospital campus to be transformed into a healing oasis.

Healing touches can be found throughout the hospital and the grounds, according to Harmony Plenty, executive director of the hospital foundation. Murals and framed photographs of nature and the Sonoma community adorn walls in both the old hospital and the new wing. Upgrades such as warm colors and wood floors help create a warm, less institutional environment.

The garden also pays tribute to the donors that helped make the new wing and garden possible. The McQuown Family Healing Garden was named in honor of John “Mac” and Leslie McQuown, owners of Stone Edge Farm, whose seven-figure gift helped the hospital raise over $11 million its capital campaign. The space space, along with the Hal Broderick Garden and the Norman Gilroy Healing Garden, provide patients and visitors a chance to sit in nature.

These improvements offer more than just a prettier hospital, Plenty said, they are also intended to reduce stress and, ultimately, promote healing.