A musician, an actor and a magician walk into a room; while that may sound like the opening line to a corny joke, it’s not. These entertainers that make up the group, Good Medicine Productions, come together in Westerville to bring entertainment and laughter to those who need it most.
Founded by Kristie Koehler Vuocolo, Good Medicine Productions is a theatrical performance nonprofit bringing smiles to the faces of people of all ages since 2016 through live performances and their special program called The Pediatric and Senior Living Program. Through this program, the performers entertain children at pediatric care facilities and older adults at senior living communities.
The first laugh
Koehler Vuocolo grew up in Westerville and later moved to Chicago to pursue a career as an actor.
Kristie Koehler Vuocolo
While there, she found her calling – entertaining in healthcare settings and interacting with patients as a member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit.
“At the time, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I was meant to do,’” Koehler Vuocolo says. “It combined my skill as a comedic performer and service, which has always been a big part of my DNA.”
As time passed, Koehler Vuocolo, along with her husband and their children, moved back to Columbus to be closer to other family members.
While trying to balance the challenges of moving and the sudden loss of her mother, Koehler Vuocolo felt lost professionally and didn’t know how to re-ignite her spark. She considered going into teaching as a backup plan.
“When we left Chicago, I felt like, ‘All right, I guess my artistic career is over. Now I will just teach and take care of my kids,’ and I was miserable,” she says. “And, you know, my husband was the one who was like, ‘You have to create something here that feeds your soul,’ and that’s sort of how Good Medicine was born.”
Now, Koehler Vuocolo and her fellow ensemble members, visit care communities such as Danbury, Legacy and The Gables of Westerville, dressed up with feather boas and rosy cheeks to bring smiles to residents’ faces.
Care for all
While entertaining is in their nature, Koehler Vuocolo says the one-on-one visits her team has with children and residents allows these folks to not only feel comfortable but also seen.
Kristie Koehler Vuocolo
“A beautiful thing about our program is we as performers, we don’t come in with baggage of what mom used to be, and expectations of how she should behave,” Koehler Vuocolo says. “We take people in their vulnerable moments and it is what it is. Whether that evolves into a song about them or dancing in the middle of a room, we just take what it is and try to make the energy shimmer a little bit.”
Visiting these places to entertain also involves giving people their space. While many of the people they visit are very happy to see their goofy characters, some people may not feel up to having a visitor. So, Koehler Vuocolo and her team are trained in how to read people and ensure they give the residents and kids the power of choice.
“If we go to their room, we always ask permission (to entertain), and if they say, ‘No,’ we honor that, as opposed to people are just coming in and out without asking, and (the patients) don’t have much power,” she says. “The more they see that we’re honoring them, then maybe the next time they are more receptive to having a deeper interaction.”
To be prepared for the various conditions of the children and older adults they interact with – including everything from childlike curiosity to memory loss – each performer undergoes roughly 40 hours of training. This includes shadowing other performers and attending seminars on topics including child development and dementia.
Practice makes …laughter
The training doesn’t stop there, as once a team member becomes active, they continue to practice their skills during the group’s bi-monthly rehearsals where they review music and practice real-life scenarios so they are prepared for anything.
Thanks to the preparation, Koehler Vuocolo knows her team is ready for a lot of things. However, they can always be caught off guard and that can weight heavy on their minds and hearts.
Kristie Koehler Vuocolo
“A lot of the memory units we work in, people will be there for several years so we really feel like we get to know them,” Koehler Vuocolo says. “And a lot of times, we are not told when they have passed, and we’ll just show up and they won’t be there, and that’s hard.”
To make sure everyone is supported, part of the bi-monthly meetings is dedicated to what Koehler Vuocolo calls an emotional hygiene section, where performers can share their ups and downs and be there for each other as a listening ear.
Spreading the joy
Over the past nine years, Good Medicine has benefitted hundreds of people, and they plan to grow that number.
Koehler Vuocolo says while they have a large number of older adult homes they visit, they are only able to visit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio roughly two to three times a month, but she hopes to grow the number of children they reach.
Kristie Koehler Vuocolo
One way they hope to do that is through a new program they started last year called Joy Gram. Family and friends of a patient can fill out a form, and the performers at Good Medicine will make a personalized video for those they can’t meet in person.
“It’s a silly little three-minute video … but it’s just one way that we’re trying to bring some joy to the kids who can’t see us,” Koehler Vuocolo says.
No matter where they take their playful banter and funny costumes, Koehler Vuocolo hopes that the overall purpose remains the same.
“The idea in bringing a program like Good Medicine (in is) it’s about an innovative person-to-person approach. It’s about connection with human beings and not some sterile, passively watch and clap (show),” she says. “I think we need to think more outside of the box on what is really quality care.”
Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.
