The Healing Power of Calm

A new space at Adventist Health Castle helps people recharge

Hospitals are brightly lit, blink and beep with vital medical equipment, and maintain a quick pace of activity. They are not always conducive to calm, quiet moments. But Sara-May Colón, director of mission and spiritual care at Adventist Health Castle, sought to change that by creating a space for people to find respite.

“Not everyone has a break room to rest in, and sometimes patients and family need a space, too,” Colón says. “We’re working on creating pockets throughout the hospital that encourage healthy pauses.”

Finding peace

As the director of Adventist Health Castle’s team of chaplains, Colón says she is always looking for ways to help people find moments of calm in what can be a busy and emotionally charged environment. “There are a lot of heightened emotions in a hospital,” Colón explains. “There can be fear, pain, crying, laughter — there is lots of energy throughout the building, and we wanted to create a space that disrupts that intensity.”

The Maile room, adjacent to the hospital’s main bistro dining area, aims to do just that. Colón and her team created what she describes as a coffee shop vibe with comfortable seating, art, plants on an adjacent patio and not a fluorescent light in sight. “It’s a great place to soften your gaze, sit back, take in some art and just be present,” she says. “The space is meant for people to breathe and heal, and it’s beautiful to see people using it for that.”

Art on rotation

Colón’s goal is to bring in different local artists every few months to showcase their work in the room. The first installation was done in collaboration with Carlo Nohea Pure, whom Colón met at Adventist Health Castle’s weekly farmers market.

“He is a talented artist, and he was really open to sharing his work with us,” Colón says. Pure’s vibrant mixed-media pieces reflect life in Hawai‘i.

“Art is interpretive. Everyone takes their own message from it,” says Colón, who studied art before pursuing her current career. “I like

the journey of art, and I like supporting artists who are creating magic for other people to experience.”