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Initiative with Eldergrow at Bergen County, N.J., SNF Brings Nature Indoors
ALLENDALE, N.J. (April 4, 2023) — Residents at Allendale Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Bergen County are embracing their inner green thumbs thanks to the skilled nursing facility’s new partnership with Eldergrow. The Seattle-based company brings nature indoors with mobile gardening programs designed to promote hands-on enjoyment and learning.
At Allendale, Eldergrow’s Therapeutic Horticulture Garden program combines a sensory garden full of colorful and fragrant plants with in-person enrichment classes. The bi-monthly classes – on topics ranging from horticulture, to culinary, to garden arts – are facilitated by Eldergrow educators, who also assist with garden maintenance.
“Many Allendale residents have a lifelong love of gardening and are now delighting in the opportunity to spend time enjoying the mobile garden and participating in the therapeutic horticulture classes,” said Kani Burgos, regional director of market development at Marquis Health Consulting Services. “Eldergrow is a perfect example of how life enrichment activities can promote both wellness and fun.” Marquis supports Allendale and was instrumental in facilitating the Eldergrow partnership.
Therapeutic horticulture is shown to offer significant mental and physical health benefits for seniors, including reducing depression and improving balance, among numerous others. In a study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Health, scientists reported planting and cultivating a garden can “improve brain nerve growth factors related to memory, and can improve functioning in the hippocampus, which is critical for memory, and cortical regions of the brain.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Allendale Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center,” said Eldergrow’s Orla Concannon, founder and CEO. “Therapeutic horticulture supports the facility’s focus on programming aimed at boosting physical and mental wellness for residents by bringing nature – and its many benefits – indoors all year long.” Allendale Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center shares a campus with Allendale Senior Living, an assisted living community that recently introduced Eldergrow’s D-I-Y Culinary Herb Garden program.
Founded in 2015, Eldergrow enhances the quality of life for older adults by creating meaningful connections to nature. Eldergrow’s Therapeutic Horticulture Garden and D-I-Y Culinary Herb Garden programs are centered around its indoor, mobile gardens which are beautifully handcrafted in the U.S.A.
Brick-based Marquis Health Consulting Services provides administrative and consulting services to skilled nursing facilities and senior housing communities along the Eastern Seaboard. The organization’s operational guidance enables its client facilities to overachieve their quality and customer service goals by embracing a progressive, multi-specialty approach to healthcare.
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85 Harreton Road, Allendale, N.J. 07401
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Media Contact:
Sandy Crisafulli / David Wilderotter
Caryl Communications
201-796-7788
sandy@caryl.com / david@caryl.com