It was my pleasure recently to officially open the new “Garden of Peace” at the Logan Hospital Palliative Care Unit. The inspiration and driving force behind this project was Beenleigh Rotary President Janee Hong.
Janee unfortunately suffered two deaths in her family and during this time she spent many hours at the Logan Hospital Palliative Care Unit.
During this time, she came to the realisation that there was nowhere for families to spend time in quiet reflection.
Janee reached out to staff in the Palliative Care Unit, particularly Gillian Myles and Dr Jessica Taylen-Smith, with the suggestion of creating a peaceful place for patients and their families.
Janee then approached my office, and I was able to secure $15,000 of funding through the Stronger Community Grants scheme.
Enlisting the services of the Rotary Clubs of Beenleigh, Logan, and Loganholme, and with supplies from Bunnings Bethania, a small space was transformed into a beautiful garden in just a couple of weekends.
As I saw, when I officially opened the Garden of Peace, the transformation is simply stunning and I would like to offer my praise to everyone involved in this project, including the management and staff of the Logan Hospital.
None of this would have been possible without the vision of Janee Hong, who imagined a beautiful and tranquil garden, where families, patients and staff could go to reflect and recuperate when needed.
I am sure the ‘Garden of Peace’ will bring comfort to many people for years to come.
Picture: (L-R) Dr Jessica Taylen-Smith, Gillian Myles, Janee Hong (Beenleigh Rotary), Sharon Hansen (Loganholme Rotary) and Bert van Manen MP, Federal Member for Forde.
