WORCESTER — It’s been three weeks since the ribbon was cut officially unveiling a rooftop garden at the north pavilion at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and it’s already become a regular lunch spot for Katherine Poirier, a patient care assistant; and Elaine Lam and Selaijha Powers, both unit secretaries.
“We’ve been up here basically since it opened,” said Powers with a smile as she took another sip from her drink.
“This space is just so much more calming,” said Poirier. “You can walk through those doors and kind of just leave everything in the hospital. There are no beeping machines or someone calling your name or looking for you; there’s none of that here.”
The trio discussed the sense of community the space has given them in such a short time. And while it gets crowded during peak mealtimes like lunch, everyone seems excited to have somewhere to unwind, especially when working the same shift.
Chris Andersen is the senior project manager who oversaw not just the rooftop garden but also the renovation and expansion of the entire building at 378 Plantation St.
“Before, this was just a rundown roof garden on top of a nursing home, but watching the transformation has really been amazing,” Andersen said, adding it’s just one of three spaces that are part of the larger expansion and renovation. “It’s a nice little surprise.”
That expansion has been the largest to date for the hospital, with 72 additional beds. Andersen said there is still space to add another two dozen beds, bringing the total to 96. The building opened in January and the rooftop garden was unveiled the first week of September.
“The rooftop garden ties in with the theme we were trying to accomplish with the north pavilion — creating an environment that promotes healing and wellness,” Justin Precourt, president of UMass Memorial Medical Center, said at the ribbon-cutting event earlier this month.
“The staff have just been thrilled,” he said, as he walked over to take in the views of the UMass campus and Lake Quinsigamond in the distance.
Just to the left stands an 8-foot-by-8-foot mosaic created by more than a hundred people, including Andersen and his wife.
“I made a small 4-by-4 square,” Andersen said, pointing out a small flower on the upper right hand side as his own creation. “You got a bag of tiles all in sort of the same color palette, you didn’t know where it was going to go.”
The mosaic, “Our Forest,” acts as a “powerful representation of the diverse communities that make up Worcester in our surrounding areas,” said Kathleen Hylka, vice president of facilities and support services at UMass Memorial Health.
Some of the tiles are clearly broken china, including one that reads “England 1872,” while others are parts of broken tea sets in pinks, reds and blues. When each creation is put together it creates a forest of colorful trees, all glistening in the sunlight of the rooftop.
Sergio Riccardi, an architect from Perkins & Will of Boston, pointed out the actual garden, which contains lamb’s ear, lavender, bee balm and lemon balm. Large bumblebees hovered around each plant, minding their own business, buzzing from flower to flower, hundreds of feet from the ground floor.
“I’d love to see this place at night,” Lee added, before the trio finished their lunch and headed back into the chaos of beeping machines and names being called over the intercom.
As for the future, the hospital is looking to open another green space for its staff, patients and caregivers. That space is under construction and set to be unveiled later this year.
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