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Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Terry Kreiser and Steve Furmanski manage the 552-acre landscape at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where they focus on tree care, sustainability, and wellness. Recent efforts include planting 2,400 trees to restore forested areas, creating trails, and engaging the community in tree-planting projects.
Category
Trees in Communities
Topic
Tree Campus Healthcare
Location
Hershey, PA
Tree Champions
Terry Kreiser and Steve Furmanski
About the tree champions
Terry Kreiser, Facilities Operations Director, and Steve Furmanski, Grounds Manager, are close partners in the management of the 552-acre landscape that surrounds Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Steve’s dedication to his work extends to his role as a director-at-large of the Philadelphia branch of the Professional Grounds Management Society.
Investment in Trees
How they invest in trees
How They Invest in Trees
On campus, the facility conducts an annual inventory and assessment of campus trees. Any trees removed for health or construction reasons are replaced by at least one new tree. A recent project centered around Arbor Day focused on bringing forested areas of campus back to a healthier condition, planting 2400 new trees to expand the forested areas and involved the expert guidance of an arborist from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and a certified forester.
Expanding to the community, walking and mountain biking trails traverse the medical center’s forested campus and connect to the community trail system — creating vital access for community residents to enjoy the health benefits that campus trees provide. In addition, volunteers from the community and Penn State students were invited to take part in the Arbor Day tree planting project.
Why They Invest in Trees
“We have been methodically working to incorporate landscape into physical health and wellbeing in the last couple of years, and it’s continuing to grow,” said Terry. “We are creating an environment where people can enjoy the outdoors, exercise and have a position impact on their physical and mental health. ” The forested campus is a therapeutic landscape in which patients, families, staff, and the community come together to do just that.
Why Tree Campus Healthcare Is Important
Penn State Hershey Medical Center has received past recognition for their sustainability and landscape efforts through accreditations such as those awarded by the Professional Grounds Management Society. “We use these avenues to get the word out to our community,” said Terry. “In addition, we have medical students, faculty, staff – it touches a large footprint.” Tree Campus Healthcare offers a new avenue for recognition of the unique role trees play within the campus and community and the leadership of the medical center in planting, nurturing, and celebrating trees.
Tree Campus Healthcare is an Arbor Day Foundation program in cooperation with our exclusive professional partner, The Davey Tree Expert Company, and alongside our partners at the Professional Grounds Management Society, Practice Greenhealth, and the USDA Forest Service.
Exclusive Professional Partner
Collaborators