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Initiative with Eldergrow at Alexandria, Va., SNF Brings Nature Indoors
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 26, 2023) — Residents at Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Alexandria 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 Woodbine, 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 Woodbine 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 Megan Shilling, regional director of market development at Marquis Health Consulting Services, which supports Woodbine and was instrumental in facilitating the Eldergrow partnership. “Eldergrow is a perfect example of how life enrichment activities can promote both wellness and fun.”
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 Woodbine 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.”
Located at 2729 King St., Woodbine provides post-hospital care, short-term rehab and long-term residential care; it has the state’s largest licensed skilled nursing capacity. The facility maintains a five-star rating in quality measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and was recognized as one of Virginia’s top nursing homes in Newsweek’s America’s Best Nursing Homes 2022 – for the third consecutive year. More information on Woodbine can be found at woodbinerehab.com.
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.
PHOTO CAPTION: Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center resident Patricia Weatherford embracing her green thumb during the skilled nursing community’s recent Eldergrow Therapeutic Horticulture Garden program launch.
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About Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
2729 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302
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Media Contact:
Sandy Crisafulli / David Wilderotter
Caryl Communications
201-796-7788
sandy@caryl.com / david@caryl.com