An 87-year-old woman waiting to see her doctor in the Cancer Outpatient Treatment Center at Straub Clinic & Hospital said she “;felt healed”; looking out at the garden.

“;I remarked to another lady, 'It's so peaceful,' and I didn't even know what it was,”; Celia King said upon learning it is a “;healing garden.”;

The garden is the hub of a newly renovated and expanded $2.4 million Cancer Center at Straub. The grand opening will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

It was inspired by Carlton Higa, a Straub patient who died Dec. 7, 2006, at age 49 with multiple medical problems after months in the intensive care unit, said Art Gladstone, chief operating officer.

When Higa, a photographer, and his family decided not to continue with palliative care and therapy, “;the only request he made was to be outdoors one more time and feel the sun and warmth,”; Gladstone said.

Arrangements were made to wheel Higa on a ventilator to a secluded open area where his wife, Violet, sons Leland and Evan, parents and friends were waiting. All life support was removed, and he died outdoors with one of his favorite songs, “;Somewhere in Time,”; being played.

“;I think he'd be very happy (with the garden),”; said Violet Higa, system administrator of the passport office. “;The Straub staff are really wonderful people. ... I really appreciate how they handled everything for us.”;

She said her husband had been a dialysis patient since Nov. 30, 1996, and was always cold.

“;Warmth, heat, seemed to keep him more comfortable. It was kind of healing him. When he was dying, he was looking up at the sky, and he had a look in his eyes—he was really happy there was no roof above him. ... While in ICU he hadn't seen the sky and didn't even know the time of day because of curtains.”;

“;Carlton needed to feel one with nature to feel complete,”; Dr. Stephen Hale, Straub director of palliative care, said on a DVD telling the Carlton Higa story.

Hale and Straub Chaplain Nathan Kohashi suggested turning the open space into a garden where the staff and patients could “;get away from the hustle-bustle of the hospital,”; Gladstone said. Renovations were being discussed for the cancer center, and the garden was rolled into the plan, he said.

The courtyard is large enough to accommodate wheelchairs or a bed and includes raised planters for seating, indigenous plants and a water feature with sounds of a waterfall. It is located between the Cancer Outpatient Treatment Center in the Palma 1 building and the Milnor building with oncologists' clinic offices.

Hospital employees felt so strongly about providing a serene outdoor environment that they contributed $200,000, said Nina Mullally, Straub director of philanthropy. Individual donors and the Garden Club of Honolulu also provided support.

“;It just touched people's hearts,”; she said.

The Cancer Center was expanded from 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet with three distinct areas. “;It's a great improvement to patient care ... and the aesthetics are phenomenal,”; Gladstone said.

Nine private treatment bays are furnished with adjustable recliners, flat-screen televisions with cable, guest chairs, a patient monitoring unit, an oxygen outlet and mobile supply cart. Four open treatment bays have large picture windows overlooking the healing garden.

“;Patients can look out into the garden as they are receiving care, but you can't see in and privacy is maintained, “; Gladstone said.

Mobile recliners with oxygen tank accommodations can transport patients to other areas, such as the healing garden.