‘Giggles on Delivery’
St. Joe’s clowning around with patient care
JOLIET – Patients and visitors at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center now have an extra reason to smile – even giggle! – during their stay, thanks to bi-weekly visits from a local traveling clown troupe.
Every other Monday, a quintet of local women, who are all professional or retired clowns, visit with patients and their families in the pediatrics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation units of the medical center.
Extra special attention is paid to patients who have specifically requested a visit or whom nurses think may need a little boost.
The troupe, which calls itself “Giggles on Delivery,” seeks to share God’s love through joy and laughter. Members include Kristina “Skiddles” Coccaro of New Lenox, Cheryl “Nurse Kara-Lot” Wolf of New Lenox, Joyce “Duchy” Dale of New Lenox, Alice “Ali” Swift of Tinley Park, and Michelle “Strawberri” Nilles of Minooka.
“I was looking for one special clown to volunteer for our patients and ended up with five!” Shannon Morgan-Jermal, manager of volunteer services at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, said.
“A dad of one of our pediatric patients recently shared with me that a visit from the ‘Giggles on Delivery’ clowns helped his daughter smile for the first time in three days.
“ We are so lucky to have them as part of our volunteer team.”
The “Giggles on Delivery” troupe created roles and tricks that were tailored for their new patient audience.
Funny bandage stickers, bedside card tricks, and the crowd favorite “stool sample” – a minute bar stool trapped in a small pill bottle – are among their new repertoire.
Nurse Kara-Lot’s persona was even specifically developed for medical venter visits, complete with a lab coat, purple hair, faux stethoscope and scrubs.
“We are glad to have Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center as a new focus. It’s exciting. We get a lot out of visiting the patients and making them smile,” Kristina “Skiddles” Coccaro said.
“Giggles on Delivery” is the latest addition to a host of special programs the medical center’s volunteer department offers to help ease patients’ recovery.
The department’s Bee Well visitors assist staff by providing a friendly visit and making patients and families aware of the services available to them during their hospital stay, even offering baskets of goodies that include puzzles, cards, magazines, books and crafts.
Some patients also benefit from the healing effects of pet therapy services offered through the medical center, including a recent partnership with the Fox Valley Therapy Dog Club.
For more information on volunteer opportunities at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, please visit www.provena.org/stjoes/volunteers.
Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center serves Will County and the southwest Chicago suburbs, providing the area’s only 24/7 neurosciences program, advanced cardiac care with a world-class open heart program, family-centered obstetrics, a Level II Emergency Department that has been nationally recognized for eliminating wait, and leading-edge procedures such as Biplane and Trilogy.
Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center is part of Mokena, Illinois-based Provena Health. Provena Health is a Catholic health system that includes six hospitals, 17 long-term care and senior residential facilities, 36 clinics, five home health agencies, hospice, private duty, and other health-related activities operating in Illinois and Indiana.
Provena Health ministries are sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.