Cooper Hospital holds 'Caring Clowns' Commencement

Cooper University Hospital welcomed two new doctors to their hallways today. Dr. Deezy wore a cupcake tiara, red flower decal on her nose and a multi-colored tutu. Dr. Moosey Reindeer paired an over-sized polka dot bowtie with her white medical coat, wore a tiny pink top hat and clipped a small teddy bear to her rear end.

"Stop looking at my bare backside," she quipped in the hallways.

Dr. Deezy (Diane Weiss, of Cherry Hill) and Dr. Moosey Reindeer (Rita Shade, of Woodstown ) are the newest members of Bumper T. Caring Clowns.

The nonprofit, which launched at Cooper by the late George Edwards (Bumper T. Clown), has grown to more than 100 clowns in five states. Cooper is expecting as many as five more volunteers to join this year.

The clowns go through a year of studies and training. Weiss and Shade trained alongside Dr. Bucket (Robert Bleiler of Moorestown) a founding member of the group, who started in 1992.

"Nobody wants to be here, not the friends or the relatives or the person who is sick or the patient. What we can do is lighten the load," Bleiler said, a wide smear of white eye shadow on his lids, a bright red nose on his face. "We do this with their permission. We're the only people in the hospital the patient can say no to."

Bleiler is a retired claims manager. Shade is the Director of Health and Human Services in Salem County (she says her staff has yet to see her in makeup and costume) and Weiss, 53, retired 26 years ago when her daughter was born. Neither woman had any type of formal clown training beforehand.

"We want people that do this to be themselves," Bleiler said, "Sure you're putting a zing into it – I wouldn't normally be wearing a bear on my backside - but we want them to be themselves, a smiling face."

Weiss said she was looking for volunteer opportunities and heard about Caring Clowns from a friend who volunteered at a hospital in Bucks County. Then she heard Cooper welcomed the program.

"I met with Dr. Bucket and after that first experience I thought, 'this is it.' How many places do you get to dress up and make people laugh?'"

As part of their education, the clowns-in-training learned hospital policies and core values, how to read a patient room, listening techniques, the use of gentle humor, how to make connections with patients, families and staff members, how to navigate the hospital and make up and costume techniques.

As Bleier said, much of it is learned on the job or in the moment.

"It can be very tough and it's tough for the clown because you don't know what to do. You do what you can do and sometimes you can't do a thing. Sometimes you become what they need, a person to hold a hand."

- Julia Terruso