To honor hospital institutions and healthcare professionals, July 2nd is recognized as National Hospital Day. Since 2013, a Christian hospital humanization group, known as Doctors of Hope, maintained by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), has operated in hospitals throughout Brazil to bring joy to hospitalized children, adults, and elderly people, along with their caregivers and health professionals. 

Started in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, the project now has hundreds of volunteers and has spread to other cities, such as Barra Mansa, Pinheiral, Barra do Piraí, Petrópolis, Paty do Alferes, Brasília, and others. To date, the project continues to expand into new regions.

The essence of the project is a clown who plays being a doctor attending to the joy of the hospitalized patients. The rooms of patients are also usually infused with messages of hope carried in by volunteers. However, with the pandemic, the group had to reinvent itself. That's how “Adriana” - a digital clown that visits the rooms of patients - came into existence.

Innovate to continue to love

“Adriana” is actually a mannequin who wears the same clothes as the health professionals and carries a tablet. The doll is taken to patient beds with the help of doctors and nurses. A connection is then established between the Doctors of Hope, who are on the other side of Adriana’s tablet, and the patients.

The project's social agent, Wescley Ferute, explains that the volunteers underwent training for this new type of service. “We make a real-time call. Volunteers participate live and take a message of encouragement to health professionals, patients, and family members in hospitals”, he emphasizes.

Whether virtually or in-person, all members are properly trained and go through several different courses in order to perform this important work of bringing hope and faith to the afflicted.

Ferute emphasizes that during training all sanitary protocols required within the hospital are reinforced. “The essence of the work is compassion and imagination, transforming even a depressing environment like a hospital into a joyful and humanized universe”, he points out.

Transformations

Felipe de Souza, one of the volunteers, learned about the initiative in 2017, when he was going through a difficult time in his life, suffering from depression, panic, and anxiety syndrome. He reports having new meaning in life through the efforts of the project team.

“My clown name is Dr. Rui Drantes. I learned that true humanization is not just with people, it's with everyone [and everything that] crosses our path, be they a human being, an animal, or a place. Today, [I look at people differently]. What is often lacking is love for others. I see this in the Doctors. I'm very grateful. They welcomed me, picked me up, and made me what I am today”, he expresses.

The Director of the School of Doctors, Raquel del Campo, who had to readjust the training due to the pandemic, explains that in order for the team to understand what the new strategy would be, she had the members practice experiencing and feeling the reaction of someone who receives a call from the different doctors. “We called each other and practiced. Each person...felt the affection they transmit to others when... doing [this] work.”

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site