The Healing Wall at the Rose House

Artist Gives Gift of Solace and Comfort to PIH Health Hospice Families

PIH Health patrons Annette and Richard Atwood stand before The Healing Wall at the Rose House

Annette Atwood and her family are longtime PIH Health patrons. Annette, a ceramic artist, has shared her creativity with PIH Health over the years through tile installations around the organization’s hospital campuses—each of her pieces created with collaborative input from clinical staff, chaplains, and patients.

In the 1990’s, Annette helped raise funds to purchase and equip the PIH Health Rose House, one of two hospice homes offering end-of-life care to PIH Health patients. When renovations to the PIH Health Rose House were underway in Fall 2023, Annette met with Shelly Necke, vice president of PIH Health Post-Acute Care Services, to discuss her inspiration for a new art piece which would be dedicated to comforting those experiencing grief.

“Landscapers around the Rose House would find small gifts, keepsakes, and notes left in the garden areas,” Annette explained. “I found that telling, and I knew that this piece would need to provide a tangible way for patients’ family members to process their grief.”

Drawing inspiration from these acts of leaving notes and special items as well as from her visit to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Annette conceptualized the design of The Healing Wall as an interactive artwork which would invite family members to express their loss by placing something of meaning to honor their loved one.

“The Healing Wall required detailed mapping and numbering of each tile and took 10 months to complete,” said Annette. The finished size is 66 1/4” X 45 1/2” and incorporates more than 600 handmade ceramic tiles, and 43 sculpted memento pouches which are meant to hold notes, flowers, and remembrances of passed loved ones.

The Healing Wall, was installed in the patio of the Hospice Rose House, and unveiled at the remodel celebration on March 20, 2024. “At the heart of this project is my belief that the end of life is sacred. No matter one’s faith, there is grief.” Annette continued. “The Healing Wall serves as a physical space that compliments the comfort and excellent care that families receive from the PIH Health Care Teams and is meant to offer additional solace.”

Visit PIHHealth.org/Hospice to learn more about PIH Health’s hospice services. For more information about the PIH Health Foundation, visit PIHHealth.org/Foundation.