Building HOPE - FAQ's
“The Wellness Community’s campaign for a new home”
Who: The Wellness Community of Southwest Florida.
The Wellness Community SWFL is the regional chapter of the international non-profit organization - The Wellness Community.
The mission of The Wellness Community (24 stateside chapters, centers in Japan and Israel and numerous satellite locations), is to provide free support and education to people with cancer and their loved ones. The Wellness Community promotes a patient active philosophy; participants enhance their health and well-being through participation in a professionally-led program of support, education and hope. For an overview of the international organization and the online community, please visit www.thewellnesscommunity.org.
What: Building Hope is the Capital Campaign for the new home for The Wellness Community of Southwest Florida chapter. The Building Hope campus with its surrounding healing gardens will be a quantum leap forward from our current facility, which is located in a commercial strip mall. This larger, healthier facility has been co-designed by people with cancer, survivors of cancer, and industry experts. For more information on our services, please visit www.wellness-swfl.org.
When: Our timeline projects a move-in date of Summer 2009.
Where: 5481 Communications Parkway, Lakewood Ranch. Sarasota, Florida. 34240
Why: A new facility is needed to BETTER serve MORE people affected by cancer. The current facility serves 1,500 people a year. The new facility will be able to serve 5,000 – 6,000 people each year.
How much: Project costs excluding building reserve fund and campaign costs are estimated at 5.5 million.
1. What kind of attention is this project receiving?
The building has been endorsed by TWC-National as the model TWC facility worldwide and will evidence the latest principles of environmental sustainability and healing as well as great art and design.
In addition, we have received high recognition from international marketing guru and author Phil Kotler who described our new facility as “a remarkable health care service product concept” in his new book (co-authored with Bob Stevens) Strategic Marketing for Health Care Organizations: Building a Customer-Driven Health Care Organization.
2. Tell us more about why The Wellness Community SWFL needs a new facility.
More than 40,000 people are affected by cancer in this region. Projected population growth, demographic changes and expanding awareness of TWC will continue to increase the number of people needing services. Because of the success of new treatments and drug therapies, more people are living longer lives while battling cancer.
Our current building has been home for TWC for 12 years and many thousands of individuals affected by cancer have found hope and support at this facility. But the current facility is not large enough to serve all those we wish to care for and is not set in the optimal healing environment: it lacks natural light, and is set in a commercial strip mall, without access to nature and gardens. The new building will incorporate these and other factors including green design to create the optimal healing environment for people affected by cancer.
3. Please describe the campus.
The new facility will be located on five acres and surrounded by 600 acres of a pristine, natural environment including a small lake located on the Sarasota side of Lakewood Ranch. It is very centrally located to participants throughout our service area. Because it is easily accessed from Fruitville and University exits on I-75, we will also be able to serve patients from the south Tampa Bay region that currently do not have access to Wellness Community benefits
4. How can design elements affect healing?
There is increasingly strong evidence that green building design and maintenance can significantly reduce illness. Research shows the healing powers of certain environmental features: spatial relationships, the use of certain colors, the integration of nature and natural light and more recently, the introduction of “green” technology. In a recent study, patient recovery in green hospitals resulted in improved discharge rates of 2 days or more on average, for example.
Other studies show that healing environments are a vital part of therapeutic treatment, an adjunct to medical care and critical in retaining high performing staff. In a meta-analysis conducted by The Center for Health Design, more than 1,000 scientific studies show that the design of healing environments positively influences medical outcomes, patient and family satisfaction and operational efficiency. Evidence links green architecture to positive health, social and economic outcomes.
5. What is a “Green” building?
Simply put, a green building or sustainable building has at least the following features:
- It is designed to harvest as much natural daylight as possible.
- It has energy and water conservation features that enable the building to be more efficient – this reduces operational costs.
- The building is constructed with eco-friendly materials – there are no chemicals in the paint, wood, concrete, adhesives, sealants, etc.
6. How significant is it that the new Wellness Community building is green?
Our new facility is green because our participants wanted a healthy, eco-friendly environment with optimal indoor air quality. Studies show that an increasing number of investors seek projects that can demonstrate concern for the environment; they also indicate that organizations that adopt socially responsible behaviors tend to outperform others financially and philanthropically.
The Wellness Community’s new facility is designed to meet the GOLD level of LEED certification. Selecting a third party certification assures that an objective party has verified that the sustainable features have met certain standards. It also increases the value of the building.
7. What are some of the important features of the new building?
Here are three specific features of the new facility:
- A large teaching kitchen - TWC participants will have the opportunity to learn healthy eating habits and ways to prepare healthy meals.
- A childrens’ expressive art studio for play & art therapy where children with cancer and children who have family members dealing with cancer can receive specialized counseling in a fun and age-appropriate environment.
- 9 healing gardens which will include a meditation garden, medicinal herb garden, childrens’ garden and Tai Chi lawn for exercise as well as relaxation and therapeutic qualities.
In the big picture, one of the most significant features is the local to global relationship and the impact and benefits that this offers. As stated above, the new facility will become the model facility for the 26 other Wellness Communities worldwide as well as future facilities. |
