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Two years ago, Dr. Cathy Tschannen, an emergency physician at Good Samaritan Hospital, found a way to help her co-workers escape the stresses of work and life.
Her idea was to turn a 20-foot by 30-foot plot of land at the Mar-Duke Farm into a garden.
“A lot of us staff — the nurses, the doctors the techs — we all started having some family issues. You know we’re all older, our parents are older, our spouses are sick, relationships break up. ... So everyone was kind of consumed with a lot of bad things that were going to happen. I kept looking at that land and thinking it would be great for us to renew ourselves by growing something, buy having a little project.”
That little project has grown into what Tschannen calls “a spirit lifter.”
The garden, where lettuce, corn, basil, eggplant and more grow, is next to Good Samaritan’s outpatient center, 6840 S. Main St. The employees of the center work at the garden whenever they can, during breaks in the day or after work.
One of those employees is nurse Diane Kasnick. She and a fellow nurse, Cindy Sullivan, live in Downers Grove, so they have been able to spend a lot of time at the garden.
“I like the fact that I’m eating more fruits and vegetables. … I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s nicer to eat your own stuff that you’ve grown than the stuff you get at the store. You know where it came from. I kind of like that. I feel like I’m eating healthier,” Kasnick said.
Kasnick said the physical labor in the garden clears her mind.
“It refreshes the spirit,” she said. “It’s good to work out any aggravation, not that we’re ever aggravated at work.”
Really though, working in a hospital can be stressful. That is, after all, why Tschannen started the garden.
“I work in the emergency department. ... even all the nurses... everybody has a (sad) story,” Tschannen said.
As the end of the summer unfolds, so does the second year of the garden’s existence.
Other than being a place of new growth, the garden has also brought employees together.
For instance, when the harvest was bountiful it was shared with other employees.
“A lot of times we pick the tomatoes, we bring (them) in and then... it’s like ‘Help yourself,’” Kasnick said.
Two years ago, Dr. Cathy Tschannen, an emergency physician at Good Samaritan Hospital, found a way to help her co-workers escape the stresses of work and life.
Her idea was to turn a 20-foot by 30-foot plot of land at the Mar-Duke Farm into a garden.
“A lot of us staff — the nurses, the doctors the techs — we all started having some family issues. You know we’re all older, our parents are older, our spouses are sick, relationships break up. ... So everyone was kind of consumed with a lot of bad things that were going to happen. I kept looking at that land and thinking it would be great for us to renew ourselves by growing something, buy having a little project.”
That little project has grown into what Tschannen calls “a spirit lifter.”
The garden, where lettuce, corn, basil, eggplant and more grow, is next to Good Samaritan’s outpatient center, 6840 S. Main St. The employees of the center work at the garden whenever they can, during breaks in the day or after work.
One of those employees is nurse Diane Kasnick. She and a fellow nurse, Cindy Sullivan, live in Downers Grove, so they have been able to spend a lot of time at the garden.
“I like the fact that I’m eating more fruits and vegetables. … I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s nicer to eat your own stuff that you’ve grown than the stuff you get at the store. You know where it came from. I kind of like that. I feel like I’m eating healthier,” Kasnick said.
Kasnick said the physical labor in the garden clears her mind.
“It refreshes the spirit,” she said. “It’s good to work out any aggravation, not that we’re ever aggravated at work.”
Really though, working in a hospital can be stressful. That is, after all, why Tschannen started the garden.
“I work in the emergency department. ... even all the nurses... everybody has a (sad) story,” Tschannen said.
As the end of the summer unfolds, so does the second year of the garden’s existence.
Other than being a place of new growth, the garden has also brought employees together.
For instance, when the harvest was bountiful it was shared with other employees.
“A lot of times we pick the tomatoes, we bring (them) in and then... it’s like ‘Help yourself,’” Kasnick said.
“Take some tomatoes home, take a zucchini.”
One plan was to grow flowers for a fellow employee’s wedding. They did not bloom in time. They’re blooming now, though.
It is all part of the learning process.
“We knew nothing (about gardening),” Tschannen said. “We’re all city girls, guys. … We just tried to figure out or learn from other people.”
Tschannen knows the garden is not a cure for all the stresses and frustrations of a busy life. Still, she believes the 20-foot by 30-foot plot of land has had an impact.
“It’s fun. You know, we talk about it, we have better diets. I’m not there that often but when there’s vegetables that come through... they make lunch and give it to people who come through there. ... I think it has helped a lot. It’s not the end solution but it’s given us something to focus on.”
