Hasbro Children’s Hospital Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Big Apple Circus Clown Care® Program Bringing Smiles to the Faces of Patients and Families
Program shares the joy and wonder of the circus with children who are hospitalized to help them get beyond anxiety and fear

Providence, R.I. – Often referred to as the unsung heroes of Hasbro Children’s Hospital, clown doctors from the Big Apple Circus Clown Care® Program were front and center on Monday, April 25, when the hospital celebrated the program’s 10th anniversary of spreading joy and wonder to patients, families, and medical caregivers there. The Clown Care program, made possible thanks to generous support from Hasbro, Inc., uses specially trained clowns from the Big Apple Circus to help ease the stress of illness for patients and their families.

Throughout Hasbro Children’s Hospital, a group of ten clown doctors—also known as doctors of delight—work in teams of two to conduct clown rounds, where the healing power of humor is the preferred treatment. In partnership with hospital staff, these professional performers offer work one-on-one with acutely and chronically ill children, offering gentle parody with their own specialized procedures using juggling, mime, magic, and music to make light of the typical routines of medical rounds. They also help to simplify the understanding of complicated medical procedures by demonstrating their own version of clown medicine, such as funny bone cleanings, red nose transplants, sweet lullabies, or toilet paper bandages.

“No matter the reason for a child and their family to be at our hospital, there is going to be increased anxiety and nervousness, but when I think of the smiles the Clown Care program has brought to countless faces, I may be the one flashing the biggest smile,” said Phyllis A. Dennery, MD, Pediatrician-in-Chief of Hasbro Children’s Hospital. “We are so grateful to the Big Apple Circus for providing an outlet for children’s natural love of silliness and fun.”

During the 10th anniversary celebration, there were cupcakes and bubbles, and clown doctors gave each patient in attendance a special Clown Care coloring book before breaking into song and a few of their trademark skits. Immediately after, hospital staff and guests marked the occasion with congratulatory remarks, including the recitation of a joyous original poem written by a staff physician for the occasion, culminating in a “toast” to the clowns who have touched so many lives—with an actual piece of toast. The Clown Care program at Hasbro Children’s Hospital consists of: Dr. Mal Adjusted, Doc Skeeter, Dr. Gonzo, Dr. Dazzle, Dr. Gon Golphin, Dr. Bucket Buster, Dr. Windy, Dr. Jokulele, Dr. Bafu, and Nurse BB.

Clown Care was created by Big Apple Circus co-founder Michael Christensen in 1986 to provide a unique service to children undergoing treatment in pediatric facilities. Each member of Clown Care is a professional artist selected through intensive auditions for artistic excellence and sensitivity, and provided with training to prepare them to work in the hospital environment. There are currently 80 committed and talented artists involved in the program who conduct clown rounds one to five days a week, year-round, at 15 hospitals nationwide, making nearly 225,000 visits to young patients annually.


About Hasbro Children’s Hospital
Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI, a part of the Lifespan health care system, is the premier pediatric facility for clinical care, research, and education for Rhode Island and surrounding southeastern New England. A private, not-for-profit institution, it is the pediatric division of Rhode Island Hospital. Rhode Island Hospital is the principal teaching hospital of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, through which the department of pediatrics brings in $23 million in external research funding annually. Hasbro Children’s Hospital is designated as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The hospital’s “All for One” commitment devotes all of its knowledge, experience, and passion for healing to each child in its care. For more information, visit www.hasbrochildrenshospital.org, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or Pin with us on Pinterest.


About Big Apple Circus
(Will Maitland Weiss, Executive Director; Guillaume Dufresnoy, Artistic Director)
Big Apple Circus is a New York institution with national impact, embraced by generations since co-founders Paul Binder and Michael Christensen brought their juggling act from the streets of Europe home to New York in 1977. The Circus’ mission is to engage the communities we serve through the joy and wonder of classic circus arts. We create direct, shared connections inside our one-ring Big Top AND in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, in our New York City home and in cities across America.

Each year, Big Apple Circus mounts a new show, including new acts, a new theme, and a new creative team. All acts are presented in our traditional single ring, with no seat more than 50 feet from the action, in our climate-controlled Big Top.

At Big Apple Circus, what happens outside the ring is as important as what happens within it: in the coming year, 30,000 low-income families will benefit from tickets to the show through CIRCUS FOR ALL; 225,000 children will be visited by CLOWN CARE® Clown Doctors; 10,000 seniors in residential care facilities will experience the delight of VAUDEVILLE VISITS; 10,000 children and their families will enjoy the CIRCUS OF THE SENSES performances adapted for children with impaired hearing and vision, and those touched by autism; and CIRCUS AFTER SCHOOL will teach 100 children in East Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn how to juggle, walk on stilts, pirouette in the air on silks—and to develop teamwork, commitment, self-confidence, and other life skills. For more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

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bigapplecircus.org/clown-care

• This event has passed.
  May 1, 2016

  May 1, 2016
• Hasbro Children’s Hospital
  593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI

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