Circus Mojo, based in Ludlow, has been honored with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Orthopaedics Department H.O.P.E. (Highest Orthopaedic Patient Experience) award.
Circus Mojo has been taking its Circus Wellness program to Cincinnati Children’s for five years now. Having initially been funded by the Co-operative Society, Circus Wellness has become a line item in the Orthopaedics Department’s budget.
Circus Mojo recently contracted with C.A.R.E Consultancy (Contemporary Applied Research & Evaluation) to track the patient experience and the effectiveness of the Circus Wellness program. In the most recent report of the 441 people surveyed, Circus Wellness received a 95% satisfaction rate for improved quality of experience in waiting rooms and clinics.
“We have been working with Circus Mojo for five years,” said Sandy Singleton, business director of the Division of Orthopedics at Children’s. “They spend three mornings or afternoons in our Orthopaedics waiting room. Each morning, I send Circus Mojo an email with our expected patient volume for the day. If the volume is high, Paul and his team know their Circus Wellness services are needed; on very high volume days I send a “calling all clowns” or “send in the clowns” message and quickly get a response that they are on their way.”
Singleton went on to explain that Paul and his team have made a huge difference in the patient’s lives while they are at the hospital.
“Our patients very much enjoy the entertainment Circus Mojo provides. As many of us have experienced, waiting rooms can be stressful when children are anxious to see the doctor, especially when there is little to entertain them. Circus Mojo puts a smile on our patients’ faces in minutes by telling jokes and teaching how to do tricks like balancing a peacock feather in their palm or spinning a plate,” she said.
In February 2016, Circus Mojo is opening the Institute of Social Circus & Vocational Training Center L3C to train circus performers, teachers, medical professionals, mental health specialists and artists as Circus Wellness Specialists. Enrollment is currently open and sessions will begin in February, April, June and September. To apply visit www.circusmojo.com. Roberto Bedevia, a circus performer from Cuba and a pioneer of Social Circuses in Venezuela and the Caribbean, will be leading this first of its kind training center in the USA.
Founded in 2009 by former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown Paul Miller, Circus Mojo engages people of all ages to learn and study the application of circus for non-traditional settings.
