BUENOS AIRES — Argentina has a new law for treating children in hospitals that requires doctors to literally send in the clowns.
The groundbreaking law — the first in the world — for Argentina’s largest province, Buenos Aires, was inspired by the “laughter therapy” of American physician Hunter “Patch” Adams and was implemented in August. All public hospitals in the province that have pediatric services are required to work jointly with specially trained clowns.
The project is “complementary medicine to bring joy to sick children in hospitals, their families and the medical and non-medical personnel,” according to the Argentine Senate.
One child who knows the benefits is Ezequiel Belsu, 12, who was crippled by pain from a pulmonary disease in intensive care here at Hospital Piñero. He needs an oxygen mask and IV line and was not moving in his bed.
But his eyes suddenly widened and he smiled when three enthusiastic clowns stepped slowly into his room and asked if he wanted to make a wish.
“Up until the clowns got in, he felt desperate. It’s the first time he spent so much time away from his home, so it made him feel better,” said the boy’s mother, Rosana Belsu, who was delighted to see the clowns.
These three clowns use the names Dr. Lala, Dr. Azul Primavera (blue spring in English) and Dr. Lulo Alegre. Their real names, respectively, are Evelyn Smink, María Asunción Giardina and Miguel Alegre. And they are trained clowns with the organization Puente Clown in Buenos Aires.
José Pellucchi, a physician who is director of Payamedicos, an organization of medical clowns, said professional clowns have already been working in more than 150 hospitals in Argentina and neighboring Chile since 2002.
When the clowns arrive at Hospital Piñero, they first write down each child’s name, age and disease they will visit. They also consult with the pediatricians to know which patients they can entertain without disturbing them — or getting exposed to a disease.
“We do an activity with everyone in the hospital, from the cleaning employees to the security officers and the doctors, to … generate well-being in the workplace,” said Gustavo Iribarne, another Puente Clown professional and an anthropologist.
The doctors believe the clowns benefit the patients.
“The fact that someone comes in with a white medical coat and a red nose saying the same things (as a doctor) but with a distinct language changes everything,” explained Daniel Rivero, a physician who heads the pediatrics department at Hospital Piñero.
“Health issues are not just related to our body. Determining factors include our sensations and human contact, which can change how our body works … called the placebo effect,” he said.
It is important to work with clowns because “the hospital’s environment is very strict with white doors and aggressive people who put needles in children’s veins, tell them bad news and make them swallow awful medicine,” he added.
To create a bridge between sick children, the clowns give two children in neighboring rooms each end of a rope. The clowns then move from one room to the other, relaying messages and jokes to each child.
This way, young Ezequiel can communicate with his hospital neighbor, Sofia Benites, a 12-year-old girl from Paraguay who had her appendix removed.
With some patients, like Sofia who just had abdominal surgery, the clowns know that laughter isn’t always the best medicine.
“We don’t necessarily want to make people laugh. Although laughter is always curative, we want people to reconnect with their childhood’s world, dreams and fantasies,” said Smink, who has worked as a clown four years.
This article was published in USA Today on October 8, 2015. Link here.
