San Carlos Hospital, Maullín
“If you want to know the divine, feel the wind on your face and the warmth of the sun on your hands.”
Buddha
In the heart of the city of Maullín, in the Los Lagos Region, lies the only community hospital, the San Carlos de Maullín Hospital (HCSCM). Opened on December 12, 1991, and operated by the Reloncaví Health Service, the facility has a staff of 89 employees and provides care to the entire commune’s population through its polyclinic, emergency department, and inpatient services, with a strong emphasis on the care of the elderly and patients with mental and neurological illnesses.
As is the case with most healthcare facilities, the San Carlos de Maullín Hospital’s 1,985 square meters of grounds lacked outdoor spaces that allowed for therapeutic and recreational activities in contact with nature. To remedy this, hospital staff contacted the Cosmos Foundation, and after exploring the site and thanks to a donation from the Amancay Foundation, we began working together to develop the first healing and therapeutic gardens in the community and in southern Chile.
The project involves restoring four spaces to become healing gardens. The first phase, which consists of an outdoor waiting room and a psychological and kinesiology therapy space, has currently been completed. We hope to complete phase two of the project once sufficient resources are secured.
The Cosmos Foundation and hospital project seeks to restore four unused green areas located between the various pavilions of the facility. As with all projects of this type, the development process consists of various stages in which the participation of the hospital community is essential. To this end, a partnership was established with the Social Urbanism Foundation, which conducted the necessary assessment to gather information for the project. During the 2020 pandemic, we held several online participatory mapping sessions, enabling us to involve the community in the decision-making process for the gardens.
On March 17, 2021, the Cosmos Foundation and the hospital management inaugurated the first stage of the Healing Garden of the Maullín Hospital, named “Chilco”, a Mapudungun word meaning “the one born near the water”, in honor of the city, which is located on the banks of the Maullín River. These are two 270 m² gardens connected by a universally accessible path, which have an area specially designed for rest, relaxation and passive therapy (mental health) and a sector for active therapy (physical rehabilitation), which, taking into account the climatic conditions of the city of Maullín, is covered, while allowing to maintain a close bond with nature.
The Maullín Hospital is also a public space for the community, which was captured and restored in a design that allows it to be a meeting place for activities such as traditional fairs or intercultural encounters with the region’s indigenous peoples.
The project, unprecedented in the Los Lagos Region and southern Chile, involves the construction of a total of four interconnected gardens. The second phase of the Healing and Therapeutic Garden, yet to be built, will include a recreational area for health workers and additional community gathering spaces, covering a total area of 520 square meters.