Gardens, Goats, and Gratitude
It’s a sunny summer day in the Stenzel Healing Garden at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland. I sit down on the bench with my favorite garden view. Clinical staff in scrubs are eating lunch at the picnic tables. Solo visitors sit in secluded spots in the shade. A physical therapist uses a garden wall to help a stroke patient stand from a wheelchair.
My reverie is punctured when I see a big guy riding his bike in my direction. “We’d really appreciate it if you’d walk your bike because there are patients in the garden.” He zips by, glances over his shoulder and says, “F**K Off!” Now he’s locking his bike near an employee entrance. A second attempt to engage elicits the same greeting.
Turns out he’s a member of the Good Sam Medical Staff. His supervising physician wants to arrange an in-person apology. Yikes! Surely, a “difficult” doctor with numerous complaints. The meeting I’m dreading is in the garden. Within minutes, I realize I’ve been wrong about this guy. He’s been on staff ten years, zero complaints. He loves gardening. “Work’s been really stressful. I let things build up too much, and it was a really bad day. I’m very sorry I took it out on you.”
This story unfolded well before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in 2020. Stress and burnout among doctors and nurses were already at record highs. The pandemic upped the ante on stress and professional burnout, big time.
The Gardens. I was Medical Director of Employee Health at Legacy Health from 2010-2022. Never able to remember an organization’s mission statement, I still remember Legacy’s. It’s short and I believe in it! “Our Legacy is good health for our people, our patients, our community, and our world.” Hearing it years earlier while working in Legacy Emergency Departments, I thought “our patients” should be first on the list. But my tenure in Employee Health and working through the pandemic changed my mind. If we want to provide excellent patient care, “our people” must be in good health. It’s just like flying: before helping others, put your oxygen mask on first.
The Employee Health team and staff throughout Legacy committed to promoting good health among our people, over 14,000 employees and 3000 independent medical staff. We championed the three pillars of healthy eating, active living, and a peaceful mind. Off to a great start, a 2015 meeting transformed our efforts.
A physician colleague suggested I meet the head of Legacy’s Therapeutic Garden Program, a horticultural therapist. “She led the efforts to create Legacy’s hospital gardens. I think you’ll like her.” After my first meeting with Teresia Hazen, I thought, “Who is this force of nature? She cares as much about these hospital gardens as I do about health promotion and prevention!” Her expertise, passion, and clarity were remarkable. By the end of our second meeting, I had signed up for two of her projects.
Once we connected, the hospital gardens (“therapeutic” or “healing”) became the heart of our good health efforts. An international expert in hospital garden design, Teresia’s leadership had led to the creation of twelve healing gardens at Legacy, the most of any medical center in the country. Beautiful, plant-rich places where patients, staff, and family members alike can enjoy a break, a quiet respite from the hospital, available 24/7, in each season. Good health garden events included summer music, therapy dogs, Earth Day celebrations, the starting point for a neighborhood walk… Caring for patients does not stop at 5 pm. So we held “Midnight in the Garden of Good Health” events so our night shift employees could take a break, enjoy healthy snacks, and relax in a beautiful place.
An important part of Teresia Hazen’s work was a research partnership with Dr. Roger Ulrich, one of the earliest researchers on the health benefits of having contact with nature. He found that just 4-7 minutes in a quiet garden reduces blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. He and Teresia collaborated on a landmark study at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center.
This garden’s features and location were designed to answer a key question. Does it matter where critical care nurses take their daily work breaks? One group took breaks in the garden; the other group in a comfortable indoor lounge. Published in 2018, the study found that nurses using the garden had significant reductions in stress, fatigue, and anger.
The Goats. By 2019 our good health efforts were gaining traction. The event that always drew rave reviews was baby goats in the garden. Staff from a suburban farm (Portland Goat Parties) brought very young goats into a hospital garden and set up a large pen with chairs. Staff escaped the ICU or their computers and headed to the garden. Many rested on a chair and held a baby goat. Friendly, soft, curious, calm, warm to touch - these little creatures brought joy! The sense of touch. Sweet moments of quiet peace.
Then along came this virus…Between March 2020 and May 2023, COVID-19 claimed over 1.2 million lives in the U.S. and more than 7 million worldwide. So much suffering. Masks, isolation, lockdowns, politics, PPE, fear, uncertainty. Stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression shot up among health care workers and the public. But the pandemic also caused a spike in our commitment to reducing stress and promoting good health among our people.
The Gratitude. By November 2021, our Emergency Operations Center had been operating for over a year and a half. COVID-19 was in full swing. We had difficult days, tough decisions. But our stress was nothing compared to what our courageous clinical staff were experiencing. Social distancing canceled many good health events. But the Chief Medical Officer wanted to offer a gesture of gratitude to all our hardworking staff and clinicians. What could be fun, a break from work, and relieve some stress? Time for baby goats at all hospital sites!
Our “G3” initiative, “ Gardens, Goats, and Gratitude,” took place during the two weeks before Thanksgiving. The 13 garden events at seven hospitals included 5 midnight gatherings for night shift employees. People got a break, enjoyed a snack in the garden, and could sit with a warm soft goat on their lap. Many wonderful photos of staff in masks, scrubs, and gowns cradling these sweet creatures. Over 900 employees attended at least one event and were appreciative!
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) had contacted Dr. Ulrich about doing a radio interview about Legacy’s therapeutic gardens. But when they saw photos from the G3 initiative, they opted for a short film for their series “People Fixing the World.” As Teresia likes to say, “Take a break in the garden every day.” Here’s to more contact with nature in 2026! Enjoy three minutes in the garden with the goats. BBC Partners | Baby goats in hospital: 'The perfect stress release' - People Fixing The World (video)p
