Community gardens at Utah hospitals help nurture good health, a sense of belonging
The program is designed to nurture participants’ physical and mental health, along with a sense of community, he said.
By Annie Knox & Ken Fall
KSL TV
Apr 29, 2022
Excerpt:
Severe anxiety confines Dinora Espinoza to her apartment much of the time, but there’s one place outside where she feels right at home.
Tending to her plot in a community garden helps ease her mind. The fresh air clears away negative thoughts, she said. And unlike with people, she doesn’t have to worry about her plants passing judgement.
“Being out in the garden, I don’t think about stuff like that,” a beaming Espinoza told KSL TV during a break from tilling soil on a recent afternoon. “It just brings this joy.”
Her family’s apartment in Vineyard has no place to grow peppers, lettuce and berries. But the Orem Community Hospital does. It’s one of three Intermountain Healthcare LiVe Well gardens in Utah. The others are at Park City Medical center and Fillmore Community Hospital.
Espinoza, 45, said she’s noticed improvements in her physical health, too. She has high blood pressure and diabetes, but her blood pressure dips down to a healthier level during the months she’s planting, watering, and harvesting alongside other gardeners, she said.
