In Lyon, the docteur CLOWN Association was created in 1995 to bring laughs, colors, magic, stories and music to hospitalized children.
Docteur CLOWN’s goals are to cheer up children and help patients of all ages and their families cope with illness, relax, and forget the hospital for a while.
Fourteen clowns, magicians and professional story-tellers, all trained to operate in the hospital environment, make regular visits to pediatric wards. They go from room to room and into playrooms and consulting rooms, improvising and getting the children involved in their games.Their cheekiness and humor play to the imagination of the children, who are by turns spectators and actors. Parents and nursing staff are invited to participate in the pandemonium created by the clowns’ arrival.
The AREVA Corporate Foundation decided to renew its support with docteur CLOWN for two years (2014-2015) by financing its activities in the pediatric orthopedic surgery ward at the “Femme-Mère-Enfant” Hospital in Lyon.
In 2015, 48 sessions had taken place for about 500 hospitalized children.
“The doctors Clowns are a bit like our colleagues, since they share with us the same concern for our young – sometimes very, very young – patients, and their “para-healthcare” activities provide a perfect complement to the care provided by the medical staff; all to the benefit of the child and his parents.” Dr. Rémi Kohler, clinical professor from the pediatric orthopedic surgery unit at the “Femme-Mère-Enfant” Hospital in Lyon