New Hospital Rooftop Gardens
How Does Your Garden Grow?

The new beautiful gardens on the rooftop of Beloit Memorial Hospital are an exciting novelty. Gardens on the ground level are expected, but a garden on the roof? The third floor of the hospital, outside the West Hart Café, is the perfect place for the new environmentally friendly rooftop gardens.

"We have received generous gifts from the Neese Family Foundation, ABC Supply and two anonymous donors to establish the Neese Memorial Garden," announces Ann Sitrick, Foundation Executive Director. "The garden is named in memory of Ebbie and Peggy Neese, long-time supporters of the Beloit community and our hospital."

The garden is almost finished as we head into winter, but will come to life again next spring with hundreds of flowering bushes and flowers. In addition to being a lovely setting for patients, families and employees, the green-grid garden is self-watering and will provide many ecological and economic benefits to the hospital. The garden will insulate some of the lower levels of the hospital and will reduce water run-off.

Medical studies show that even looking out a window at gardens and natural areas lowers blood pressure and helps surgical, cancer and heart patients recover faster and require fewer medications.

To provide for future care of the gardens, hospital employees recently finished a successful internal campaign called "Groom the Blooms" to establish an endowment fund for maintenance of the gardens.

The Neese Memorial Garden will come to life again next spring with hundreds of flowering bushes and flowers.