Memorial Garden Offers Home for Quiet Reflection

Harp music played softly while the crowd gathered. Some carried tissues to wipe a stray tear and others held onto large stones engraved with the names of loved ones who passed too soon.

The event, held Thursday, May 26 at Kaiser Permanente’s Walnut Creek Medical Center, was a dedication of the hospital’s new Memorial Garden tucked in the courtyard between the hospital and adjacent Medical Office building. Adorned with river rocks, lighting, a fountain and new benches, the space is designed to provide quiet reflection for staff, members and their families.

Employees and family members gathered during the dedication to place the first rocks commemorating their loved ones. For Arlette Phillips, an LVN in Oncology, the day was an emotional one, full of tears and supportive hugs from co-workers. She placed a stone in honor of her son Kai, who died two years ago at age 29 from a motorcycle accident. “It touches my heart that they care enough to commemorate my son,” she said between teary breathes. “I now have a place here at work to visit my son. It really is special.”

Reverend Jurgen Schwing, director of Spiritual Care Services for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area, dedicated the new garden, leading the group of 40 in a remembrance. “Today we dedicate this Memorial Garden to remember the friends and colleagues who have worked for our Walnut Creek Medical Center, serving members and patients alongside us.”

Challenge coins, tokens of achievement representing the pride and bravery of those who have served our country, were also distributed to roughly 15 attendees.

“We gather to honor the memories of all who have served on behalf of our great country, and to recognize those among us who are veterans of wars distant or more recent – who are currently active in their military service, as well as the family members of veterans and active military,” said Michael Tully-Cintron, chief operating officer for Kaiser Permanente’s Walnut Creek Medical Center, as he placed a stone in honor of those lives lost as a result of the attacks on September 11, 2001.

“We hope that this Memorial Garden will be a special place for both our employees and members,” said Bernadette McCourt, project manager and one of the organizers of the dedication. “This garden will be a home for those wishing to leave a memory of their loved one and a place where they can connect, reflect and remember.”

For information on how to order a memorial stone, please call Bernadette McCourt at 925-295-7142.