Patients at 嘿嘿视频鈥檚 Rusk Rehabilitation are receiving a unique supplement to assist in their healing process: horticultural therapy. Whether it鈥檚 tilling the soil of a small plant or bonding with the program鈥檚 two bunnies, patients are finding it a helpful elixir in their recovery from surgery or other musculoskeletal ailments.
Gwenn Fried, who oversees horticultural therapy at Rusk Rehabilitation, says patients are initially taken aback when approached about participating in the program. 鈥淏ut once they become involved,鈥 she tells The New York Times, 鈥渢hey immediately ask if they can have horticultural therapy tomorrow!鈥
The first documented benefits of horticultural therapy in the United States are credited to Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who noted the curative benefits of 鈥渄igging in a garden.鈥 It also has been used as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the First World War.
Lori Bloomberg, one of 嘿嘿视频鈥檚 horticultural therapists, sums it up this way: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very spiritual practice. When you鈥檙e in the hospital, caregivers often focus on the physical. We try to focus on the things that may be forgotten.鈥
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