SAN ANTONIO – Kimatha Oxford Grice is known for helping patients during recovery as an occupational therapist.
But she's also known for spreading smiles and laughter through her work as the clown "Tutti Frutti."
"As a mean old therapist, I go in and make patients do things they don't want to do," said Grice, with the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. "But as a clown, I get to go in and play with them."
Grice has been clowning around for 26 years.
"Growing up, I was always silly and goofy and I liked making people laugh, even before I knew what clowns were," she said.
She moved to San Antonio in 1996, and found that there were no clown visitation programs in the city.
So she started her own.
"When we come to the hospital we do the children's floors primarily, but we also see the adults because everybody has a child in them," she said.
Grice said there's research that supports the fact that humor and laughter improve a person's mental and physical health.
"If you made just one person laugh and smile and forget their heartache or their illness even for a few minutes, it's worth it," she said.
For more information on Dr. Grice and the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, call 210-450-9000, or visit them online at www.UTMedicine.com.