Sacred Places
Garden of Gratitude at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
A fenced garden for the people who work here, built loud at one end and quiet at the other.
WHERE
Rosedale, MD
SETTING
Healthcare
PARTNER INSTITUTION
MedStar Health
Visit
Where it is
9000 Franklin Square Drive, Rosedale, MD
What happens here
Associates hold outdoor meetings here, eat, and run wellness programming, and those working the ER take a moment away from an intense routine. Staff lingered in the garden after the ribbon-cutting, which was welcomed with soft guitar music. The space sits between the ER visitors' entrance and the staff entrance, fenced with card access required, so staff can be there without watching who else comes in.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
Two hundred and thirty-seven people showed up.
Drag to see the transformation.
01
The Need
Franklin Square already had a Sacred Place, the Garden of Little Angels, which honors and memorializes children who have been lost. Staff had nothing. The green space on their side of the campus had no design features or intentionality to it, and there was no designated garden anywhere on that side of the campus at all.
02
The Vision
The first charrette ran from 6am to 10am to span the shift change, and broke records for engagement by drawing 237 people in to give input. What staff asked for was a flexible, multifunctional space where they could spend time together and alone — usable for outdoor meetings, eating, and wellness programming, and safe enough that people working the ER could step out of an intense routine without leaving campus.
03
The Transformation
The site was green but shapeless. The design gave it two zones and a threshold between them. Nearest the entrance is the active end, group seating and tables. Further in the ground quiets, anchored by the bench nestled amid lush plantings. A circular vine trellis connects and separates the two. A curved walkway runs the length, a raised planter serves as a focal element, and a stepping stone pathway offers an alternate way into the reflective end. Rocking chairs are interspersed throughout for the motion of them. Small painted pebbles are scattered across the site, mementos painted by associates at the ribbon-cutting as a blessing of joy and healing. The whole is fenced with card access, which is what makes the peace of mind possible.
WHO TENDS IT
Orville Henry
Firesoul, Garden of Gratitude at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
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Leah Murray
Firesoul, Garden of Gratitude at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
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