New Humor Cart Program At Ashlar Is Laughable

By Jan Howard

What has two clowns and lots of gadgets to induce smiles and laughter? It’s Ashlar of Newtown’s Humor Cart, a new program designed to bring more humor into the lives of Ashlar residents.

According to Hilda DeLucia, Ashlar’s community resources manager, health care providers are beginning to realize the importance of humor and laughter in health care.

“Laughter improves the quality of life,” she said last week.

In fact, according to an article in a recent health care magazine, a number of studies since the 1980s have found that laughter can have physiological benefits as well as those of the spirit. It can ease tension, increase pulse and respiration, enhance blood oxygen levels, improve blood circulation, and boost the immune system. It increases alertness and memory.

The Humor Cart is a gift from the Quality of Life Fund of Ashlar of Newtown.

The program began in April, and has been well received by Ashlar’s residents, Ms DeLucia said.

Ms DeLucia and Mary Lewis take the cart from room to room, telling jokes, laughing heartily at their own jokes, engaging in water fights, and distributing humorous gadgets to the residents.

Donning multi-colored wigs, patterned coats, and glasses with big noses and funny mustaches, Ms DeLucia and Ms Lewis last week began what was only their second outing with the humor cart.

“This is going to be fun,” Ms Lewis said. They had spent a few minutes restocking the cart with all the little funny toys and gadgets that had delighted the residents during the first venture.

Among the novelties were a toy monkey that does tricks, funny glasses with a big nose and mustache, pinwheels, smiling inflated frogs, stuffed animals that bounce up and down through the use of a string, and other sundry items.

The idea for the cart came as the result of a Masonicare retreat Ms DeLucia attended recently entitled “Humor and Your Funnybone.” It emphasized the importance of laughter and humor in helping to reduce stress and improve physical and mental health.

Ms DeLucia’s idea for the cart received the approval of President Tom Gutner, and she started collecting the array of novelties the cart offers.

“There’s no real scientific thing to it. It’s a non-threatening thing,” she said. “We just have to work on how to present it.”

Ms DeLucia hopes that somewhere out in the community there are people with a flair for comedy that will find volunteering with the Humor Cart appealing.

 “I would very much like to offer it as a program volunteers could participate in,” she said.

She sees the Humor Cart being offered at least twice a month at first, with a potential for a weekly basis down the road. For now, she said, “Twice a month would work well.”

“We get responses from people we normally don’t get responses from,” Ms Lewis said as they pushed the cart down the hall toward the elevator. On the third floor, they began their routine in the community room where several residents were having lunch.

“It’s happy humor day,” Ms DeLucia and Ms Lewis sang out as they entered the room, going from one resident to another, offering funny glasses to try on and humorous gadgets to try out, telling jokes, and laughing heartily at their own jokes. The residents loved it. From the community room, they went on to individual rooms, where residents pushed away lunch trays to look at the gadgets and laugh with two very silly clowns.

The big draw is giving something out, Ms DeLucia said, noting many residents asked for particular gadgets. “We’ll polish it as we do it, and see what works. We don’t want it to lose its novelty.

“The encouraging thing this time was to see the residents with the little gadget we gave them last time. I told them to look at it, and think of a smile. It was something that impacted them in a positive way. The nurses say they talked about it, even the next day. People are being touched by it,” Ms DeLucia said. “Seeing the little toys on their tables or in their rooms is affirmation it really works, and we want to continue it.”

Ms DeLucia and Ms Lewis were enjoying doing the cart as much as the residents were enjoying watching them. Smiles and laughter greeted them and echoed after them as they left a room.

“Part of the plan is for the volunteers to enjoy it,” Ms DeLucia said. “It’s just being silly. We need more humor and levity in our lives. To bring that to people’s lives, how could you not enjoy that?

“Elderly individuals do not necessarily need to be depressed or in their own world,” she said. “This will make it possible to reach out to them in a humorous way to bring a smile or laugh.”

Ms DeLucia noted, however, that whoever volunteers for the Humor Cart must be sensitive to the residents’ moods and the state of their health. “It’s different than taking around other things, like books or library cards. This could be offensive to some people,” she said. “The volunteers would need training as to sensitivity.”

Those who volunteer to clown around with the Humor Cart would shadow Ms DeLucia and Ms Lewis for awhile before taking it over by themselves. “We’ll shadow them for awhile, also,” she said. “I imagine some people would enjoy doing this.”

The Humor Cart is only one of several ideas Ms DeLucia has. She would like the program to develop to include humorous books and movies, a funny hat day, and other programs or activities, all geared to bringing more laughter into residents’ lives.

And, she said, if in the future there is some way a correlation can be made between the Humor Cart and better health or attitude in the residents, that will be a plus.