The Prouty Garden is a half-acre in size. Until destruction by BCH in December 2016, it provided open sky, shade trees (including a mature Dawn Redwood), walking paths, wide swaths of grass, beautiful flowers, playful statuary, pond and fountain, private alcoves for solitude, and the opportunity to experience wildlife such as birds, squirrels and rabbits.
Olive Prouty meant for her Garden to remain in perpetuity and BCH accepted it on that condition. A plaque at the entrance read: “Mrs. Prouty insisted on maintaining this location as a ‘haven for patients, families, and staff to enjoy it…This Garden will exist as long as Children’s Hospital has patients, families, and staff to enjoy it.”
Our firm represents the Friends of the Prouty Garden (FPG) on its mission to save the Garden from permanent destruction by raising awareness about its importance and gathering support to urge BCH to change its plans to put its $1 billion expansion on the Garden.
The FPG is comprised of hundreds of members around New England, the US, and the world, including many patients, family members, community supporters, financial donors, physicians and other medical professionals, as well as over 13,000 online supporters.
Research demonstrates this value. Patients with access to nature or even just able to see trees heal faster, need less pain medication, and have fewer post-surgery complications. Countless former and present BCH patients have spoken out to say that Prouty Garden has been a place where they can escape, for a while, the confining hospital atmosphere and feel like kids again.
Professor Clare Cooper Marcus, emeritus professor of landscape architecture at he University of California and Berkeley and a leading expert in therapeutic landscaping, calling the Prouty Garden “one of the ‘most successful hospital gardens in the country.’”
We are also supported by noted biologist Professor E.O. Wilson and “America’s pediatrician” Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. They wrote and testified for the proven healing power of nature and against the devastating loss of the Prouty Garden.
Our firm is honored to represent the FPG intervenor group in state licensing proceedings and now in the courts over compliance with the laws of Massachusetts. Our clients and witnesses are firm in their opinion that BCH’s business plan to increase revenues, by drawing on more full-pay international patients, is heavily outweighed by sacrifice of the Prouty Garden.
Read our FAQ regarding the Prouty Garden...
