30 years in Zurich hospitals: Giggle Doctors celebrate milestone

The Theodora Foundation is delighted to announce a significant milestone: Since their first visit on 6 April 1995 to the Children’s Hospital in Zurich, the Giggle Doctors have made a total of 200,000 visits to children in four hospitals in the canton of Zurich. The visits by the professional artists also benefit relatives and nursing staff.

Moments of distraction for children in four Zurich hospitals

Since 1995, the Giggle Doctors have been regularly visiting the Children’s Hospital in Zurich, the Triemli City Hospital in Zurich, the Balgrist University Hospital and the Cantonal Hospital in Winterthur. With creative games, humour, music and empathetic stories, they create little breaks that brighten up the children’s everyday hospital life and alleviate their fears. It is not only the children, parents and siblings who benefit from the visits; the hospital staff also appreciate the moments of variety that the Theodora Foundation makes possible.

Longest-serving Giggle Doctor, on duty for 30 years

A total of around 16 artists are active for the Foundation in the canton of Zurich. The longest-serving among them is Enrique Sáenz Raez, alias Dr. Kiko, who made his first visit to the Children’s Hospital in Zurich 30 years ago. «I found my calling in the role of the Giggle Doctor. It’s a great way to make people happy», says Kiko, who now works regularly at the Children’s Hospital in Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital in Winterthur. Prof. Tayfun Güngör, Head of Department and Senior Physician at the Children’s Hospital in Zurich, confirms: «I remember very well the first visits of Kiko, who, in addition to his friendliness, also embodies internationality and interculturalism in his work, which is valuable for our foreign-language patients.»

Ensuring long-term activities

The Doundation is constantly evolving. For example, the ‘Emergency Giggles’ programme has been running at Winterthur Cantonal Hospital for two years. Once a week in the evenings, artists visit the children’s emergency department. They provide valuable distraction and relief for hospital staff, as the children are distracted from medical interventions. The Giggle Doctors are so valuable and make my job so much easier,‘ confirms a nurse at the cantonal hospital. Mirjam Lieberherr, Levi’s mother, confirms how much of a relief the evening visits to the paediatric emergency ward are for parents too: «As a mum, it was wonderful to see Levi having fun despite the pain and being able to forget about it for a moment.»

The Foundation is also strengthening its staff. In the last training course, the 

Zurich team of artists was joined by Dr. Wipp, who has been enriching the Children’s Hospital Zurich with her creative ideas every Tuesday and Wednesday since February. All visits are free of charge for the hospitals – they are financed by donations and partnerships with companies.

A great thank you to everyone making this milestone possible!