New Hospital

Just over a month ago, the new Sidney and Lois Eskenazi 

Hospital opened on a site on the IUPUI campus, 

just west of downtown Indy. The new buildings replace

Wishard Memorial Hospital,which for over 150 years provided

medical care to the people of Marion County. 

As the needs of the community and its services expanded,

Wishard grew, much like Topsy. Visiting the hospital was like 

entering a maze, with clinics fitted and expansions added 

to the building wherever space could be found.

Years ago, it was evident that a new hospital was needed

and ground was broken for the new facilities in 2011.
An extraordinary gift of $40 million to fund the new public 
hospital was made in June 2011 by the Eskenazis.
Every time I came downtown, I passed by the construction 
site, wondering whether the piles of dirt, concrete, steel, 
and stone would be just another nondescript pile. 
But I think we've gotten something beautiful, clean 
and spare with beautiful blue stripes to relieve 
what might well have been ugly, blank walls
full of blind-eyed windows.

While patients were moved and the hospital officially 

began operations on December 7th, a lot of the landscaping

remains to be done. The workmen above are constructing

what will become a multi-layered "healing garden" nestled

in the yard of the hospital, outpatient center, and faculty

office buildings. This is in addition to the garden on the roof 

of the hospital, intended to provide patients, staff, 

and the community with organically grown vegetables. 

The structure of the healing garden is intriguing, 

with steel rebar taking organic forms 

that to me resemble bits of an RNA double helix. 

There is a pile of massive limestone to one side 

to be put into position down the road, 

and the top will be grassy, too.