Boston Children’s Hospital needs more space, many on its staff told the New York Times. And there is a half-acre space right on its campus that would fit the planned 11-story addition to the hospital, including a bigger neonatal intensive care unit and cardiovascular surgery center.

But many of those same staff members know that as much as the hospital needs more space, its patients also need that space for a purpose for which they’re already using it—enjoying time outside in Prouty Garden as a break from the sterile and sometimes scary environment inside the hospital.

A group of parents and doctors called Friends of Prouty Garden have taken on the task of trying to save the green space, complete with a 16,000-name petition, lawyers and public relations efforts.

The other concern beyond losing a natural space at the hospital is the potential for the new high-tech building to raise healthcare costs, which have a cap in Massachusetts.

Read the story at the New York Times.