Healing Gardens for Assisted Living: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Health Education

Abstract

There is a serious lack of health promotion programs for seniors transitioning from living in their own homes to assisted living. Research has demonstrated that horticulture and gardening can benefit people who are institutionalized. Aging and horticulture specialists at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension collaborated to create a healing garden project at Nevada's first low-income assisted living facility in Las Vegas. The goal was to enhance residents' quality-of life through a less traditional educational process. This process expands the scope and reach of Extension programs to a much larger and more diverse audience.

Introduction

Assisted Living facilities are a relatively new and growing elder-housing phenomenon that gives seniors a way to maintain their independence and functionality. These life-transition facilities require major adjustments for older adults, creating a unique teaching opportunity for health education.

The Silver Sky project in Las Vegas addresses this emerging wellness issue. It is Nevada's first affordable, nonprofit assisted living center with 90 accessible/adaptable apartments. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) faculty collaborated to create Silver Sky by developing a public/private partnership to provide these services for low-income Nevada elderly. Silver Sky provides a venue to develop, pilot test, evaluate, and model research-based educational programming that includes the health promotion and quality-of-life benefits of a healing garden project.

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