Morris Hospital moves and enlarges its serenity garden

Right after she interviewed for a position at Morris Hospital, Hannah Wehrle headed to the gift shop – because she loves to shop, she said – and stumbled upon the hospital’s serenity garden.

Wehrle said she was “blown away” by this “secret garden” and immediately headed to it. The “lush” garden had “beautiful vines” and “a little walkway” that opened into a pergola. She was amazed that the hospital provided this space for people who were at the hospital for “hard reasons,” such as cancer or car accidents, she said.

“I already knew from working in the community how special of a place Morris Hospital was,” said Wehrle, who is the auxiliary and foundation officer at Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers. “So I found a place to sit down and said, ‘Please make me a part of this family.’ ”

The space of that serenity garden, which opened in 2006, is now part of Morris Hospital’s new Women’s Imaging Center. The new serenity garden is now adjacent to the hospital’s main entrance.

Features include seating areas, a semi-private meditation space separated by foliage and a nook with a half-arch pergola that was custom-made for Morris Hospital, officials said.

The garden is open during the hospital main lobby hours of operation, but it’s visible from the hallway after dark, Morris Hospital said.

Landscapers George McComb, who also serves as president of the Morris Hospital Foundation board of directors, and Michael Hoover donated their time to plant and help care for the new garden. The Morris Hospital Foundation paid for all costs associated with the new space, including the trees and plants.

Wehrle said McComb’s and Hoover’s efforts are integral to the garden’s overall loveliness.

“They breed their flowers with such love,” Wehrle said.

Wehrle said in a news release from Morris Hospital that “the group that conceptualized the new garden put such thoughtfulness into the whole process” since the original garden had a deep meaning for so many.

She herself has “laughed, cried” and even hugged people in that space, Wehrle said Thursday.

Morris Hospital said the memorials and stone pavers from the original garden are being moved to the new location.

In addition, Wehrle said three benches are dedicated in memory of three Morris Hospital community members: Terri Gilmoure, president of the Morris Hospital Foundation; Jenny Heron, a certified nurse assistant at Morris Hospital and employee in the office of Dr. John Bolden, an infectious disease specialist at Morris Hospital; and Dr. Erik K. Muraskas, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at Morris Hospital.

“I think it is very timely that, after all this COVID stuff has been happening, about how many hours and how many things our patients and families and staff went through, that they now have this place to just go and take a breath and enjoy,” Wehrle said.

To buy a stone paver for the garden, contact the Morris Hospital Auxiliary and Foundation at morrishospital.org.