A photo of medical clowns taken by a nurse at the NICU at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center, in Isreal, on April 19, 2020. (Xinhua)

"Our mission is to bring joy and relief to the patients," says Shoshi Ofir, who is among about 100 medical clowns dedicated to cheering up patients in Israeli hospitals amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

by Nick Kolyohin

JERUSALEM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- About 100 medical clowns of the Dream Doctors Project (DDP) are acting under stringent health precautions at around 30 Israeli hospitals to bring happiness to patients amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DDP, a non-profit organization, promotes therapeutic medical clowns as an essential part of the healthcare staff in hospitals throughout Israel by training them to work as part of multidisciplinary teams.

Typically, the clowns make and give patients shaped balloons or perform tricks to distract them from the stress and pain of medical treatment. However, the health concerns nowadays have led the clowns to wear masks, gloves, medical robes and others that make it much more difficult to use their facial expressions to entertain.

In fact, medical clowns are much more than merely entertainment. They assist doctors in therapeutic procedures, encouraging patients, and improving the efficacy of healthcare delivery, especially when the spread of the deadly COVID-19 has caused growing anxiety at Israeli hospitals.

"Our mission is to bring a lot of joy, happiness, and relief to the patients," said Shoshi Ofir, a professional medical clown of the DDP at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center in the north of Israel.

A selfie taken by professional medical clown Shoshi Ofir, in Israel, on April 2, 2020. (Xinhua)

But in addition to patients, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and the rest of medical teams go through a rough time.

"So we need to give them some relief likewise," added Ofir, whose stage name is Hearta, which means in Hebrew Dr. Nonsense.

For the COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized under isolation, Ofir said the medical clowns try to make their appearance funnier and brighter to present a festive atmosphere.

"We are making stickers on our masks like a mouth with one black or gold tooth, a colossal mouth, or mustache for female clowns, which makes everyone laugh," she told Xinhua.

David Schilman, also a medical clown of the DDP at Wolfson Medical Center, said the management of the hospitals considers medical clowns essential workers and believes they are no less important than medical treatment.

Schilman is recognized by the stage name Chocho which sounds friendly and exciting to patients.

In an interview with Xinhua, Hagar Mizrachi, director general of the Baruch Padeh Medical Center, said medical clowns are very encouraging and helpful to the patients.

Humor contains healing power as it lifts spirits of all people, helps lower distress and feelings of social isolation, Mizrachi explained.

"Everyone really needs some relief from all this stress," he concluded. ■

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