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Big Apple Circus Clown Care Program Comes To Saint Barnabas Medical Center: A First in New Jersey Livingston, NJ - Clown Care, the Big Apple Circus’s signature community outreach program, has crossed the Hudson to bring the joy of the classical circus to children at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey. Grant funding from the Gross Family Foundation of West Orange has made this truly unique program a reality. Saint Barnabas Medical Center is the first hospital in New Jersey to welcome the Clown Care program. Clown Care brings professional performers into hospitals to entertain and empower children, their caregivers, and hospital staff. Clown Rounds occur every Tuesday and Friday at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Burn Center, Dialysis Unit, Same Day Surgery, Valerie Center, Pediatric Clinic, Emergency Department and of course, the pediatric floor. During these rounds, the clowns travel to each unit skillfully using humor to dissipate the fear, stress, and loneliness kids often experience when faced with illness and hospitalization. Through mime, magic, music, and inspired improvisation, our Clown Care Team brings joy to the bedside of sick and injured children. "We are thrilled to be forging this new partnership with Saint Barnabas Medical Center and bringing our pioneering Clown Care program to New Jersey. Our performers have a special role to play within the hospital: To empower young patients through live, interactive entertainment that lets them direct the action. At the same time, we are there to lessen the burden on parents, and ease the stress of hospital staff through comic relief," states Andrea Kopel, Vice President Community Programs, Big Apple Circus. “We are grateful for the support from the Gross Family Foundation to make this transformational program a reality at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, states John Bonamo, M.D., M.S., Executive Director at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. “Having a child in the hospital is extremely stressful for parents. These professional clowns know how to connect with children and parents, transporting them out of their current situation, if even for a few minutes. It is truly a remarkable program to watch,” he continues. Clown Care, the Big Apple Circus’s signature community outreach program, is currently in 19 leading pediatric facilities across the United States. Circus Co-Founder Michael Christensen created the program in 1986, based on his desire to provide a unique service to youngsters undergoing treatment in pediatric facilities. In partnership with a participating hospital’s chief medical and administrative staff, members of the Clown Care team conduct ‘clown rounds,’ their own version of medical rounds, where the healing power of humor is always the prescription. Currently, 97 committed and talented professional artists conduct clown rounds one to five days a week, year-round, making nearly 250,000 visits to young patients every year. Clown doctors are trained in specific hygienic practices and protocols and in special issues related to interacting with hospitalized children. Performers collaborate with doctors and staff to design a program that fits the needs of each hospital. So, if you see two clowns meandering down the hallway, be prepared to smile!
Date: December 24, 2008 Saint Barnabas Contact: Sally Malech (973) 322-5441 [ top ] |
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