San Borja Hospital
“Nature is a sanctuary of peace and healing” – John Muir.
The Jacaranda Therapeutic Garden is located within the Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Service of the San Borja Arriarán Clinical Hospital, which serves more than 30,000 patients annually from the municipalities of Santiago, Maipú, Cerrillos, Estación Central, and Pedro Aguirre Cerda, as well as all regions of Chile.
Both the Neurology and Psychiatry units lacked adequate outdoor spaces for therapeutic, recreational, or bonding activities. Many of the therapies, occupational activities, family gatherings, and celebrations were held in waiting rooms, common rooms, and even hallways, which seriously limited their quality, variety, and child-adolescent context.
For this reason, the Cosmos Foundation, together with the hospital community, designed and implemented a Therapeutic Garden, which is now used by medical staff, patients, and their families for recreation, therapy, and wellness.
Based on a participatory design, the Jacaranda Therapeutic Garden involved the restoration of a 1,380 m2 semi-abandoned green area, which over a period of nine months was converted into a space for recreational and therapeutic activities with the hospital community. The project was developed thanks to contributions from the Amancay Foundation, the GTD Group, the Proceder Foundation, and hospital funds.
This garden includes four areas defined by their uses: a contemplation area, a sensory and recreational area, a physiotherapy area, and a workshop area. Each of these spaces responds to the needs expressed by the community during the project assessment phase and to the technical characteristics of therapeutic gardens.
Additionally, next to the hospital’s main entrance, an open-air waiting room has been set up for the use of the more than 1,500 people who travel to and from the health center daily.
“You can tell the difference between a patient starting therapy between four white walls and artificial lights and a patient who occupies this space.”
Carla Rojas, Pediatric Neurologist at San Borja Hospital