Access to the natural environment for patients, visitors, and staff is a key health objective for the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. To maximize visual access from patient rooms, the Healing Garden creates a forest hillside planting with cascading water elements. A courtyard at midlevel is an accessible space with seatwalls, tables and chairs, and a reflecting pool with a koi fish mural. The central water feature, framed by groves of quaking aspen, is a focal point of the day room on three different floors as well as several patient rooms.