Penn Medicine Princeton Health Develops Garden to Honor Healthcare Heroes
Penn Medicine Princeton Health has created a Healthcare Heroes Garden to recognize the challenges of 2020 and show gratitude to the medical staff members and employees who helped our community through it all.
The garden will be in full bloom this spring on the Princeton Medical Center (PMC) campus, just outside the Schreyer Education Center. President and CEO Barry S. Rabner said the Heroes Garden is dedicated to everyone who was part of Princeton Health through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The last ten months challenged us in ways that none of us ever imagined,” Mr. Rabner said. “The good news is that we have proven ourselves to be stronger than COVID and that with dedication, courage, hard work, flexibility, creativity and optimism, we have taken great care of our patients and each other.”
The garden spot is a prime location between the Education Center, the Healing Garden, and the Edward & Marie Matthews Center for Cancer Care. Last summer, as the first wave of COVID-19 was winding down, Mr. Rabner suggested developing the space to recognize the staff and medical staff.
Funding to develop the garden came from a bequest by the estate of the late David I. Scott, MD, and his wife, Gail Shapiro-Scott.
Dr. Scott was a talented anesthesiologist who helped start the pediatric anesthesiology practice at Princeton Health, Mr. Rabner said, and Mrs. Shapiro-Scott was a retired teacher who volunteered more than 1,400 hours to serve the hospital and our patients. The bequest was made after Mrs. Shapiro-Scott’s death in March 2020. The Scotts’ gift will also benefit a new Patient Support Fund at the Matthews Center for Cancer Care.
Mr. Rabner said the Heroes Garden is intended to offer a place for reflection and contemplation. The garden features birch trees and other plants, benches, tables, and chairs. One primary feature is a three-panel, metal wall directly outside the Education Center doors.
The left-hand panel displays a quote from Mother Teresa: A life not lived for others is not a life.
The right-hand panel acknowledges the donors.
The center panel is inscribed with the message: In recognition of our extraordinary healthcare heroes at Penn Medicine Princeton Health for your courage, professionalism, unwavering commitment, and compassion during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our patients and the community will forever be grateful for your outstanding work and dedication.
About Penn Medicine Princeton Health
Penn Medicine Princeton Health is one of the most comprehensive healthcare systems in New Jersey, providing acute care hospital services through Princeton Medical Center; behavioral healthcare through Princeton House Behavioral Health; in-home nursing, rehabilitation and hospice care; primary and specialty care through Princeton Medicine Physicians; ambulatory surgery and wellness services. For more information, visit www.princetonhcs.org. Princeton Health is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), which, together with the University of Pennsylvania’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, forms Penn Medicine, one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research and excellence in patient care.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andy Williams, 609-423-3289
andrew.williams3@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
