| Posted October 7, 2014 | By Melonee Hurt | Categorized under WMC Happenings |

Williamson Medical Center's Cardiac Rehab program has a new partner, a brand new space and its very own life-size mural, which was funded by an anonymous donor. Pulmonary Rehab is the newest rehabilitation service offered at WMC. Both services are now up and running in a newly renovated 5,100-square-foot space across the hall from Cardiac Rehab's former home on WMC's campus.

WMC Chief Operating Officer Julie Miller said with the success of WMC's Cardiac Rehab program, which consistently has a six-week waiting list, new, larger space was a necessity to continue to meet the needs of the community.

Adding Pulmonary Rehab to the mix, according to Ashley Perkins, WMC's associate administrator for nursing, was driven by a clear need in the community.

"Before we opened our Pulmonary Rehab program, pulmonary rehab services were not available in Williamson County," Perkins said. "When a patient needed this therapy, they were referred to other facilities out of the county. Offering this service at Williamson Medical Center will allow residents to receive treatment in their own community."

Once the new space on WMC's campus was identified and designed, Miller said it became apparent that a prominent wall would need some special treatment so that patients didn't have to stare at a large, blank wall.

"We knew of local muralist Michael Cooper because of work we are doing with him on the children's hospital," Miller said. "We talked to him about this space and the cost and then started thinking of a donor. We knew we couldn't do the mural without someone privately funding it, so we worked through our foundation and found a donor for the project."

The mural was funded by a local donor who wished to remain anonymous.

Watch Michael Cooper create his life-size mural in 1 minute!

Heather Leusink, clinical exercise physiologist with WMC's Cardiac Rehab program, said she thinks anything that can help brighten up the space will be a great addition.

"Because we work with a number of patients who can have a tendency toward sadness and depression about their diagnosis, it's helpful to do anything we can to keep the rehab space bright and lively," Leusink said. "This mural is going to give the space much more personality. We are just flabbergasted at how great this new space is and it is going to allow us to help so many more people."

Cooper, a well-known Franklin-based muralist, said his creative process began with finding out what those involved with the new space wanted from the mural.

"It became clear to me that people who are coming down here for therapy need to learn to get moving again," he said. "When I looked at the wall, I knew we could work with some architectural details to give it some depth. We added some windows and basically put a park down there that is full of activity."

Cooper said the project covers 600 square feet of wall space and took three weeks to finish.

"I can speak from personal experience how important it is to get up and moving after you've had a cardiac event," he said. "I had cardiac surgery back in December, but was up and walking within days.  Five weeks later I was on the racquetball court. I got back up quickly, but there are some people who are not active who absolutely need to be. So the inspiration behind this mural is to influence people to get out and exercise."

Perkins, who is overseeing the renovation of the new rehab space, said having the addition of Cooper's mural makes the space even more exciting.

"The mural will definitely be the focal point of our new space," she said. "Our goal was to create a workout area in which our patients would feel like they were connected to the outdoors, as well as promote various activities to inspire them.  Mr. Cooper's mural captures that vision perfectly with color and a little bit of whimsy."