Texas Children’s dedicates new play garden retreat for patients, their families

November 14, 2017

On November 9, Texas Children’s dedicated the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden during a special ribbon cutting ceremony attended by more than 50 people including Texas Children’s leadership and staff, members of the Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees, The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital, and our external construction and design partners who helped make this vision a reality for our patients and their families.

Located outside the Abercrombie Building, a beautifully hand-painted mural greets visitors as they enter the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden which was meticulously designed to create a comfortable retreat where patients and families could get away from the stress of treatment or caring for a loved one in the hospital.

The play garden features a colorful display of child-friendly play pieces, musical instruments and plenty of shade structures, benches and lush landscape for optimal relaxation. The design of the play space allows patients – whether ambulatory or confined to a wheelchair – to easily access all of the amenities offered in the play garden.

Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony included Texas Children’s Senior Vice President Tabitha Rice, Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre, Donigan family friend Betty Lunsford, and patient family Desiree Bradley, whose daughter, Deonc, had been treated at Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit for seven months.

When Bradley delivered her daughter, she wasn’t sure how long her little girl would survive due to an extremely rare genetic disorder called Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, which affects the spine, ribs and respiratory system. Ten years later, however, Deonc, is a happy, thriving young girl who visits Texas Children’s often where she sees 13 different specialists for her condition. Bradley thanked the staff at Texas Children’s and everyone who was involved in the play garden project which will benefit our patients and their families for many years to come.

“You have done an outstanding job to make this an accessible space for all of the children, all of the patients and their families at Texas Children’s,” Bradley said. “When you enter the play garden, it’s not just about Deonc Bradley. It’s about mom and dad, the siblings, and meeting the needs of the entire family. When I am having a rough day, this is a nice space for me and my children to take a break and relax for a few minutes.”

In addition to feedback from our medical staff, employees and from our patients and families, Texas Children’s Facilities Planning and Development team collaborated with external project partners – W.S. Bellows, RVI Planning + Landscape Architecture, Smith Seckman & Reid, Walter P. Moore and muralist Sebastein Boileau – to bring this project to fruition for our patient families.

The new Abercrombie play garden was named in memory of the late Merle C. Donigan, a long-time Texas Children’s volunteer and Auxiliary member who graciously donated funds which were used to honor her legacy and support this renovation project. While she and her husband never had children of their own, they both delighted in being able to make a child smile.

“As former owners of a sandwich/candy shop in downtown Houston, the Donigans retired from business in the 1950s and thereafter, Merle brought her business acumen and love of children to volunteer at Texas Children’s,” Lunsford said. “This play garden is a symbol of Merle’s love of children and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the legacy she left us.”

To learn more about the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden, click here to watch the video.