OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — An in-patient program at Saint Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute continues to blossom while helping get patients outdoors to work on their fine motor skills.
The hospital’s therapy garden was started three years ago by Laura Montgomery and it’s become a staple with patients continuing to reap it benefits.
“It feels very institutionalized to be in a hospital and so being able to come outside and sit with their family or enjoy nature I think is really healing,” Montgomery said.
The program is task-specific and caters to the institute’s whole patient population. Current patients have recently endured amputations, spinal cord injuries and strokes, and the program is specialized in having them repeat patterns, practicing their balance and extending their reach by using gardening methods.
“The birds, the weather, the sunshine, it makes you feel alive,” explained Corrine Caputo. “We take life for granted and I know people stress over bills and everyday life, but you need to enjoy the good things like gardening and just being around good people.”
As the garden continues to help their mobility flourish, it’s also bringing patients to familiar roots like Patty Benton. Benton has been recovering at Saint Luke’s after a recent car crash and said gardening is making her road to recovery smoother.
"I live on a ranch so I really miss planting flowers,” Benton said. “When they said we're planting flowers, I said, sign me up.”
The garden is exclusive to Saint Luke’s and later this year patients will be given a survey to better understand the impact it’s having on their rehab.
Benton was involved in a car accident and after months of care she is able to go back home to Garnett, Kansas.
"The coordination that reached the balance that's required to bend down into a low bed or reach overhead to pick up a watering can,” Montgomery said. "Patients get to partake in this specific event and share in the beautification of space."
