It is not often that a roof is considered to be therapeutic. But the large vegetated roof on the new Mercy Health-West Hospital in Cincinnati is considered beneficial to not only its patients but also to their families and to the hospital’s staff, according to an article on the FacilitiesNet website.

“The green roof is a real enhancement to the healing environment,” said Mike Stephens, Mercy Health, West Market President and CEO. 

“In addition to being a beautiful visual attraction, the roof features a therapy terrace for inpatient rehab, where patients practice walking on different types of surfaces as well as some stairs. Enjoying the roof is a clear and direct part of their therapy,” he said, adding that studies have shown that exposure to nature and natural light improves patients’ moods and reduces their stay. There is also a large meditation garden visible from a large window in the chapel.   

The vegetated roof, the largest in Ohio, spans 2.5 acres and features more than 65,000 plants, all native to Ohio. Intensive, 30-inch high berms bearing prairie grasses and perennials swirl across the roof, “recalling the rolling hills of Ohio’s ancient prairies,” said Gary Meisner, president of Meisner + Associates of Cincinnati, the landscape architect on this project. “There is something soothing about seeing the wind blowing across the grasses. It is nature’s choreography.”

Read the article.