PRESS RELEASES

Gift Creates Beverly Hospital Ayer Healing Garden 

Local Families Make Generous Gift To Create Beverly Hospital Ayer Healing Garden
Garden offers tranquil and serene environment for hospital patients and their families

(Beverly, MA)--Beverly Hospital recently celebrated the opening of its Ayer Healing Garden with a dedication ceremony held in the tranquil, serene new space. The new garden was made possible through generous gifts from the families of Rosemary Merrill Loring, Eugenia Merrill Seamans and Katherine Ayer Merrill, to whom the new area is dedicated. Mrs. Seamans and Mrs. Loring were both involved in the creation of Beverly Hospital’s original Ayer Garden.

When Caleb Loring, Jr. learned that a new garden was underway at the hospital, he approached family members with the idea to dedicate the new area in honor of the three “healing gardeners.” The families then worked closely with the Hospital and Leahy Landscaping to create the garden, which is located near the main lobby at Beverly Hospital. It features a natural stone waterfall and a variety of flowers along with grasses and shrubs that can be enjoyed year-round by patients, their families and hospital staff alike.

“We are very grateful to the families of these three wonderful women for making our new Ayer Healing Garden possible,” said Susan Samperi, president of Northeast Health Foundation, the non-profit organization that works to build philanthropic support for Beverly Hospital and its affiliates. “The garden will complement the high-level of care that we deliver by providing a relaxing environment to reduce stress and promote a sense of peacefulness in the hospital setting.”

A growing body of evidence suggests that elements such as stress and psychosocial factors can significantly affect patient health outcomes. Healing gardens and similar therapeutic settings are designed to address these patient needs by providing a nearby escape from the often-bustling, sterile hospital environment as well as the stress and anxiety that can result from illness.

Beverly Hospital
Beverly Hospital is a full service, community hospital providing quality, patient-centered care to North Shore and Cape Ann residents. Services include maternity, pediatrics, surgical, orthopedics, cardiology, as well as other specialties. The hospital boasts a medical staff of more than 570 physicians and its service area includes some 13 communities. Beverly Hospital has been nationally recognized by Solucient Institute as a 100 Top Hospital five times in the past seven years.