New rooftop mural at AdventHealth DeLand brings nature’s calm into ICU rooms

DELAND, Fla. — Just outside the intensive care unit at AdventHealth DeLand, patients, families and staff now have a new view.

A series of large murals lines the exterior wall visible through ICU windows, depicting scenes inspired by the St. Johns River, with cypress trees, still water and native wildlife. One panel seen by those walking to the unit shows manatees moving through clear blue water.

Positioned along a lower roofline outside the hospital, the murals turn what was once a plain view into a continuous landscape seen from patient rooms. For those spending long stretches in critical care, the view offers a quiet focal point during uncertain moments.

Khelsea Bauer, president and CEO of AdventHealth DeLand, said the idea for the project came from a hospital team member who recalled hearing about ICU staff and respiratory therapists bringing a patient outside and the impact that had.

“He hoped that when patients and nurses look out the window, they would see something that feels like a healing space and be encouraged by God’s love,” she said.

Hospital leaders partnered with local artist Courtney Canova, whose work appears throughout downtown DeLand.

“As we were thinking about what this space could be, we looked to the city itself,” Bauer said. “We wanted patients to see something that feels familiar — like a small piece of home — something that brings peace and a sense of comfort.”

Canova said the work draws from his experiences along the region’s waterways, including the contrast between the dark, tannin-rich water of the St. Johns River and the clarity of nearby springs.

“You go from those black waters of the St. Johns into places like Blue Springs, where everything turns crystal clear,” he said. “It always reminded me of something peaceful.”

As a faith-based health system, AdventHealth focuses on caring for the whole person, and leaders said the mural is one way that approach shows up inside the ICU.

Now, the windows frame water, light and wildlife — giving patients and families in West Volusia a place to rest their eyes when they need it most, while reflecting a broader commitment to care designed to support healing in body, mind and spirit.

“I’ve been in an ICU before, and you spend a lot of time looking out the window,” Canova said. “I wanted to create something that feels calm — something you can get lost in for a moment.”