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Pediatric nurses in the greater Prague area yesterday enthusiastically embraced the concept of becoming Dr. Clown Agents, receiving training from the DC team in clowning skills and in the art of making children feel at ease in hospital environs.

How to establish a more or less permanent presence in hospitals participating in the Dr. Clown program, has been on the minds of C4C’s Dr. Clown team for a long time. Clown visits are the highlights of every child receiving prolonged treatment in children’s hospitals countrywide. However, they’re always over too soon, even though Dr. Clown teams often stay for hours. In special cases, the team even offers a “COD” (Clowns on Demand) service when especially frightened youngsters need a little TLC or Tender Loving Care and immediate attention to distract them from an accident or an acute medical condition. But even this exceptional service is limited to availability of clowns at the time of the call. And this is exactly where the Dr. Clown Agent program comes into the picture.

“It’s been our hearts desire to extend the reach of our popular Dr. Clown program for some time”, explains Rafal Wojas, Dr. Clown program director and C4C co-founder. “The Agent program is the answer to these concerns. By training nurses in balloon art, magic and other clowning skills, we will have something close to a 24/7 presence in children’s hospitals and wards.”

The team kicked off their Agent recruitment program yesterday, as part of the Kladno Hospital Conference of Pediatric Nurses. 219 nurses from Stredocesky Kraj and Prague attended the workshop with a focus on providing a child-friendly atmosphere in children’s wards and keeping ailing children occupied. They provided an attentive audience to C4C clowns Rafal and Honza, who gave a lively presentation on how to capture children’s hearts and minds, and - extending the invitation to the attending nurses to become DC Agents. The reception, as seen by the pictures below, couldn’t have been more enthusiastic. The nurses embraced the concept whole-heartedly, clamoring to sign up as Agents.

The seminar became even more animated and lively, when the clowns pulled out 300 pre-inflated balloons to give some on the spot, hands-on training in balloon sculpturing to the nurses. Producing balloon puppies and swords right off the bat, everyone was proud of their accomplishments and astonished at the ease of the technique. “This was one of the most constructive seminars I’ve ever attended”, commented Jana, one of the participating nurses. “Everyone here wants to become a Dr. Clown Agent now.”

When the clowns unveiled the “Dr. Clown Corner” which will be provided free of charge to all participating hospitals (keep giving, dear partners!), excitement almost reached a feverish pitch.  The large board is illustrated by renowned artist Romana Andelova, of Angel Art, who specializes in art for children. The illustrator of many children’s books and magazines, Romana is proud to be part of the Dr. Clown team and is also the creator of the Dr. Clown coloring books. The attractively designed board has space for pockets offering balloons, coloring books and other Dr. Clown materials to hospitalized children.

As the DC team explained the corner and its uses in detail, spontaneous calls “Yes, we want it!” and “When can we get it?”, kept coming from the audience. “Looks like we had a great reception”, smiles Clown Honza, who, when he is not in clown attire, moderates the early morning program of Kladno’s most popular radio station, Radio Relax. "These lively nurses will make great Agents for Dr. Clown."

Delivery of the DC Corners is scheduled for the end of June to participating hospitals and wards.

Honza (l) and Rafal making their case - red nosed!

C4C's Honza and Aja ushering in 300 test balloons

Not what you think it is...

Balloon scultures made easy - Rafal and Honza explain

Look what I did...

Mastering the art of balloon sculptures - excited participants!

Rafal explaining the DC corner - on a scaled down model