Roots of Connection

Building community is at the heart of Trinity Health PACE. Our teams think creatively to help participants form social connections, with recreation therapists designing clubs and activities inspired by participants’ interests and passions.

With spring in full swing, the Mercy LIFE of Pennsylvania Valley View center looks forward to the traditions and excitement of their annual gardening club.

Their gardening club has become one of the most beloved rhythms of their year, a space where patience, creativity, community, and care grow right alongside the plants. Every spring begins indoors, where participants and colleagues gather with seed catalogs, dreaming and planning. They flip through pages, point, sign, discuss, and decide what they want to grow. Year after year, favorites return including juicy tomatoes, fragrant herbs, pumpkins for Halloween, cucumbers and zucchini that inevitably lead to baking projects and shared memories. These early moments are about choice, anticipation, and ownership.

As the weather warms, the club’s plans move outdoors. Together, they map out where each plant will live, learning about sunlight, spacing, and growth. The raised herb beds are especially meaningful, designed so participants using wheelchairs can easily stroll up, pinch a leaf, breath in the aroma, and harvest what they’ve grown together. The garden becomes fully accessible for both participants and staff alike, sensory and alive.

Through the season, the garden supports so much more than just plants. It brings the center together as a community, as they prepare fresh tomato salads, bake zucchini bread, and engage in aromatherapy using herbs. Because of this shared care, there is pride in daily watering, excitement in spotting the first blossoms, and deep satisfaction in watching something flourish.

“For our Deaf and DeafBlind Participants, the garden is a place of connection, to earth, to one another and to the rhythm of the seasons. It offers calm, purpose, and joy. More than anything, it has been a gift, a living classroom, a sensory retreat, and a reminder that growth happens best when it is tended together,” Sarah Muhlenburg, recreation manager said.

Mercy LIFE Valley View is the first Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in the country to serve Deaf seniors, and our only center offering housing along with medical and social services. Many staff members are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, primarily using American Sign Language.

Connect with our Valley View location to learn more at 215-339-4747.