BSCHS is “Digging Deep.”

Helen, resident of the Mt. Alverno Center, in Warwick, NY, is “Digging Deep” and loving it!

Great article about the therapeutic benefits of horticulture and the progress that Bon Secours Charity Health System has made in creating opportunities for Horticultural Therapy for our community, our residents and patients. Found on Page 2 & 3 of the 2012 Home & Garden issue of the Times Herald Record (May 16, 2013).

http://issuu.com/hudsonvalleymediagroup/docs/2013_home_and_garden/32

For more information about the BSCHS Garden Ministry, please reach out to Horticultural Therapist, Anne Meore, at anne_meore@bshsi.org or (845) 642-3012.  Much of our work can be viewed on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bsgardens.  Follow us!

Tuxedo School District visits the Garden of Hope at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

Today at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (a member of the Bon Secours Charity Health System), we had the privilege of hosting a group of “kinderGARDEN” students to assist in preparing and maintaining our Garden of Hope.

The students learned various skills such as planting seeds that included chard and sow pea.  Other accomplishments include tilling of the soil, watering seeds and overall care of a small garden.  Lessons learned today may help shape the interests of students for their future hobbies and possibly even careers!

We would like to take this time to thank the Tuxedo School District for visiting and helping maintain the garden, as well as acknowledge our garden coordinator Anne Meore for all of the hard work and dedication she shows on a daily basis.

Blessing of the Soil Scheduled for the “Garden of Hope” at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

Therapeutic Garden Inspires Hope and Improves Quality of Life

SUFFERN, N.Y. (April 18, 2013) – On Tuesday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m., one day after Earth Day, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center will hold a Blessing of the Soil Ceremony for the “Garden of Hope” to mark the beginning of the 2013 growing season.  Located on the campus of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, adjacent to the “Spirit of Rockland” special victims unit, this special gathering is open to the public and will take place rain or shine.

Guests will include hospital and community leaders as well as horticultural therapists and interns from the New York Botanical Gardens. Members of the clergy will also be on hand to officially “bless” the soil. Additional special guests include representatives and consumers from Jawonio. As part of the horticultural therapy programming planned for 2013, consumers from Jawonio ‘Day Hab.’ services of New City will help the community by planting crops and caring for the Garden of Hope throughout the growing season.

“The Garden Ministry at Bon Secours Charity Health System is so grateful for the wonderful and talented group from Jawonio ‘Day Hab,’ their dedicated staff members, and all the other wonderful volunteers and supporters of the Garden of Hope,” stated Anne Meore, Horticultural Therapist and Garden Project Coordinator at Bon Secours Charity Health System. “The hard work and generous spirit of our dedicated community members is priceless and we look forward to working with everyone this season to reap a bountiful harvest in 2013.” added Meore.

The Garden of Hope at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center is a 32’ x 40’ growing space, which is tended to and maintained through the generous donation of time and effort of volunteers. The garden features a fully-irrigated planting system, as well as a wheelchair-accessible planting bed and vertical growing walls. In addition to providing fresh produce to our local food pantries, the space is host to ongoing horticultural therapy, wellness and educational programming.

With Brilliant Minds, Able Hands & Loving Hearts…

Horticultural Therapy in the Bon Secours Charity Health System is bringing in the season of winter with a focus on evergreen and conifers. Residents and patients, across the system, learned about some of our oldest and toughest trees and were able to observe the beauty and take in the aromas that they provide. We all of us felt like “spring chickens” when we learned that some of these gifts of nature can easily mature to become a couple hundred of years old!
Hands and fingers worked, as did the creative minds of our residents and patients, as they created inspired, seasonal centerpieces. Smiles of accomplishment glowed on their faces as they took in the beauty brought forth with their own brilliant minds, able hands and loving hearts.

The Warmth of the Season.

The warmth of the season was experienced by our residents during this month’s horticultural therapy programs, not only by the work of their hands, but noses were active too, taking in the scents of “the warming spices.” Residents and patients created harvest grapevine wreaths with symbols of our bounty, including pumpkins, corn and wheat. We learned about the historic roots of the spices of cinnamon and clove dating back to the 3rd century BC, it’s culture and how it is harvested. Anecdotes and stories were exchanged about their use in recipes such as pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes or yams, as the aromas filled the room. Cinnamon sticks and clove sachets finished off the wreath and helped to fill hallways and resident living areas with the “warmth of the season.” To all of our residents and patients at BSCHS, may the “warmth of the season” stay with you not only today, but tomorrow and each day forward. Happy Thanksgiving!

Resident and patients experience the “warmth of the season” in creating grapevine harvest wreaths, finished off with aromatic cinnamon sticks and clove sachets.

Volunteers, Taylor Thomas of Warwick and Emma Meore of Tuxedo, NY, lend a hand to our residents in creating their harvest wreaths.

Horticultural Therapy in “Harvest Mode.”

Harvest decor using gifts from Mother Nature.

Many residents and patients of Bon Secours Charity Health System dove into “Harvest Mode,” by preparing their surroundings with the sights and smells of the season.

Horticultural therapy programs during the month of October focused on using décor from the nature that surrounds us, to create seasonal works of art. Pinecones, mosses, acorns and dried flowers were among items used to decorate carnival gourds and to add to the visually stimulating project, we engaged the senses a bit more, by adding aromatic spices of clove, cinnamon stick and star anise. Working with these materials brought our patients and residents back into their kitchens, with recollections of holiday recipes and seasonal traditions. Nostalgic smiles were plentiful and not only filled the room with the warmth, but our hearts as well.

See more photos & follow us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/bsgardens.

Hickory Hollow Nurseries… Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Over 20 grasses and a lovely, rustic footbridge…A generous donation from Hickory Hollow Nurseries of Suffern and Tuxedo, NY.

The area surrounding the Garden of Hope is beginning to take shape, thanks to the generous donations from Hickory Hollow Nurseries of Suffern and Tuxedo, NY. Yesterday, Kenny Yeager, nursery owner, had a truckload of grasses and a beautiful footbridge delivered to our garden space. For me, it was nothing short of Christmas Morning as I looked upon these beautiful gifts! Kenny Yeager has also been most instrumental in the landscape design and layout of the wooded haven. We are so very grateful for the generous sharing of your time and talents. Many heartfelt thanks from the BSCHS Garden Ministry and the family at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center!

Tuxedo Girl Scouts “Making the World a Better Place”

“Making the World a Better Place.”

It was a day of “giving back” for the young ladies of Troop 367 of Tuxedo as they gathered in the Garden of Hope at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Suffern, NY, this morning. Under the leadership of Bette Willins and Marie Castricone, seven scouts planted over 150 narcissus bulbs as their way of continuing the beautification of the garden’s perimeter.
Troop members learned not only about how to care for plants but that caring for plants is a lot like caring for people. The girls discovered that the purpose of the Garden of Hope was not only to grow food for those in need, but that this therapeutic space is used as a “practice ground” for how “grow” healthy relationships with those around us. The Garden Ministry at Bon Secours Charity Health System is so grateful for the hard work of these dedicated members of our community and to their commitment to “make the world a better place.” Many thanks, girls!
More photos of the Garden of Hope at www.facebook.com/bsgardens.

Tuxedo Girl Scout Troop 367 spends their Saturday morning planting over 150 narcissus bulbs to beautify the area surrounding the Garden of Hope.

The “Old West” Comes East to Grandparent’s Day @ St. Joseph’s Place

St. Joseph’s Place resident, Tess, and her family celebrate Grandparent’s Day and the “Old West!”

Family and friends gathered to celebrate Grandparent’s Day at Bon Secours Community Hospital, in Port Jervis, NY, this past Saturday, September 8th. Well-clad in their “western” attire, the residents of St. Joseph’s Place brought in the “Old West,” with hand made decorations, activity-filled and decorated gift bags, and themed photo backdrops, designed by the unit’s Director of Recreation, Amy Barra COTA. Residents also mixed up a “Western Kick” dry steak rub for guests to take home and created the table centerpieces in last week’s horticultural therapy session.

Celebrating the “Old West” at the Grandparent’s Day celebration on September 8, 2012.

There was no shortage of support from the unit’s Acting Administrator, Carol Tunney, her nursing staff and volunteers, during the development of this celebration, from helping the residents to make the dangling stars and banners, to planning their “cowboy” attire and ensuring that they had a great time at this festive event. A special thank you to Amy’s husband, Greg, for donating his time and talent in making themed signs and two fantastic covered wagons, which were raffled off at the event. Another big thank you goes to the Food and Nutrition staff who provided a wonderful meal and to the Foundation, who provided each family a lovely framed table photo.

“The Old West” Grandparent’s Day Celebration for the residents, families and friends of St. Joseph’s Place, September 8, 2012.

St. Joseph’s Place residents and volunteers, celebrate Grandparent’s Day.

St. Joseph’s Place residents celebrate the “Old West” at Grandparent’s Day.

Unit’s Acting Administrator, Carol Tunney, Director of Recreation, Amy Barra COTA and her husband, Greg, “mean business” at the St. Joseph’s Place, Grandparent’s Day celebration.

Jawonio ‘Day Hab.’ Provides Service to Others in Garden of Hope.

On a brilliantly sun-filled day, reminiscent of that same day 11 years ago, we pause to remember those lost, but we also take time remember the importance of service to others. Today, in the ‘Garden of Hope’ at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, consumers from Jawonio ‘Day Hab.’ Services of New City, gathered and performed their part in providing service to others by planting crops, which will be harvested for use in our local food pantry. Our horticultural therapy session focused on learning about peas, how they grow, when they grow, how they look, feel and taste. Skillful hands planted the seeds in the raised beds and we will now practice patience, as we wait for the fruits of our labor.

Gerry S., Robert P., and Louis E. get “in touch” with the soil in the Garden of Hope.

During this week of “Hunger Awareness,” we are grateful for the wonderful and talented group from Jawonio ‘Day Hab,’ their dedicated staff members, Deborah and Jackie, and special educator/volunteer, Bette Willins, for helping us as together, we strive to provide service to others today and every day.