Oklahoma State University students in the department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture got an opportunity of a lifetime. Even though they haven’t graduated yet, they were recently given the chance to participate in a real-life professional project.

They were asked to design the landscape plans for a future hospice house to be operated by INTEGRIS Health. Hospice of Oklahoma County, founded by the physicians of the Oklahoma County Medical Society, has been a leader in end of life care since 1990.

Plans are currently underway to build the residential hospice house to meet the needs of terminally ill persons with pain or symptoms that cannot be accommodated by home-based hospice services. This type of facility will benefit patients who are close to death, when the complexity of care is too difficult to manage at home.

“A hospice house has been our dream for many years and with the support of INTEGRIS Health and the benevolence of several individuals, our vision is becoming a reality,” says Terry Gonsoulin, Hospice of Oklahoma County executive director. “We wanted to get the community involved in this endeavor, and that’s why we approached the students at OSU.”

The students worked under the direction of OSU faculty Paul Po-Siu Hsu and Warren Edwards. They were divided into teams, and each team submitted their own design. The idea was to make the surroundings as peaceful as possible, a perfect place to say goodbye.

Brendan Schmidt and Gwenn Danae Kragenbrink won first place, receiving $500; Jessica Moore and Robert Conrad came in second place, earning $250; and Jill Baumgartner and Robert Perry finished in third place, winning $100.

The young designers say thinking about end of life issues was emotional at times. They knew their designs could be the last images of beauty some of the hospice house patients would ever see. They say this encouraged them to work harder to create an atmosphere of serenity that would have a calming effect on all those who enter.

The new 23,000 square foot facility will sit on 11 acres of land overlooking Western Ave. and N.W. 122 St. in Oklahoma City. The land was donated by Jim and Pat Wallis of Edmond. In May 2007, the Butterfield Memorial Foundation provided a $100,000 planning grant for design of the hospice house.

In addition to the land, which is valued at $915,000, the project cost is estimated at $6.5 million. To date, a total of $1.4 million has been raised. A completion date has not been projected at this time.

If you are interested in information about the project, please contact Hospice of Oklahoma County at (405) 848-8884, or the INTEGRIS Foundations at 
(405) 951-5005.



The winners of the contest were 1st place Brendan Schmidt and Gwenn Danae Kragenbrink. The others in the provided picture are Warren Edwards, ASLA, Associate Professor Paul Po-Siu Hsu, ASLA, and Helen Southerland, Hospice of Oklahoma County.


The 2nd place winners are Jessica Moore and Robert Conrad.


The 3rd place winners are Jill Baumgartner and Robert Perry.