In a Tuesday, July 24, 2012 photo, Borekkas, a Dream Doctors medical clown, center, helps Majed, a child patient, while he is prepared for surgery in the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, central Israel.

The hospital clowns are unpaid volunteers, although several are also employees of the hospital. Gabriel Valles, 50, is a security guard there.

Is there research that correlates hospital clowns with healing? Ms. Paul-Parks says most research has been done overseas and is from the early 2000s but with some as recent as last year.

Tetiana Nosova, who goes by the clown name of Zhuzha, a volunteer from the "Bureau of Smiles and Support" plays a ukulele as she stands with Michael Bilyk, who is held by his mother Antonina ...

Doctors dressed as clowns have been shown to improve symptoms and the psychological well-being of hospitalized children, according to a systematic review published in The BMJ. “As clinicians ...

Learning how to become a hospital clown in eight weeks. The class began on Sept. 26, meeting one night a week for eight weeks. Students are learning a variety of skills including puppetry ...

Kira Vertetska, 8, who is undergoing treatment in the oncology department at Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, paints a clay figure Thursday Sept. 19. FILE - Rescuers, medical ...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Their costumes are put on with surgical precision: Floppy hats, foam noses, bright clothes, and a ukulele with multicolored nylon strings. Moments later, in a beige hospital ...

The hospital clowns, who use traditional clown noses and bright costumes, are now visiting multiple hospitals in the Ukrainian capital region, including the National Cancer Institute, ...

Hospital clowns bring joy to young Ukrainian cancer patients who survived Russian missile attack By Associated Press Published September 28, 2024 10:05 PM ...