Designing a Haven
"I have one word to describe the Spiritual Space," says Mary Chernoff, a veteran designer behind the renovation project at Langley Memorial Hospital. "It's...hush."
As the designer on the team tasked with remodeling the Langley Memorial Spiritual Space on the hospital's first floor, Mary Chernoff injects her creativity in the room's decor, colour and detail while respecting Fraser Health's standards for hygiene, style and design.
Built decades ago, the Spiritual Space at Langley Memorial Hospital no longer meets the function it was designed for. So last year, the Giving Hearts Gala committee turned its focus toward the call to renew the now dated, dark room to appeal to patients, their loved ones and caregivers looking for a quiet escape from the clinical hospital setting.
At the fourth annual Giving Hearts Gala on February 11, 2023 more than 350 donors and sponsors raised $240,000 in support of the renovation.
Since 2019, Giving Hearts Gala guests have raised $905,000 for advances that make an impact on the lives of Langley residents every day. This donor community has forged a reputation for philanthropy to provide comforts for some of the hospital's most vulnerable patients, says Heather Scott, Executive Director of the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation.
"At the Foundation, we knew that a Spiritual Space would inspire the generosity of the Giving Hearts Gala community, which is dedicated to hospital care that serves emotional and psychological needs - care from the inside out."
Their gifts, once added to those from other community donors, completed the funding needed to cover all the renovations for the Spiritual Space. This generosity helped to transform it from a dim space into a serene environment designed for privacy and healing, prayer, meditation, or quiet thought.
"Whether you've had surgery, or your wife just had a baby, or your mom broke her hip - there's worry, there's caring and the need to just quiet down for a while, or the need to say a prayer," says Mary Chernhoff.
"I think that's pretty universal."
The room is now decorated in a low-stimulus colour palette with inspirational nature images, and a celestial lighting element on the ceiling.
"I wanted it to be soothing and calming, a place where people can both reflect and perhaps grieve, but also celebrate, in a safe harbour that's off the beaten path of most other hospital corridors."
As a focal point, the space features an illuminated panel with a photograph from local First Nations land, with a mountain vista, "to inspire us to think about strength, durability and longevity."
The room is furnished in robust, long-lasting material that adapts to hygiene standards. That means no carpets but plenty of easy-to-clean wood-like vinyl flooring, and upholstery material that has been developed to mimic and feel like fabric, the designer says.
"Over the years we've really improved the types of finishes for health care design in general. It's helped us a lot in achieving infection control, while it still looks beautiful."