Hospitals aren’t exactly the cheeriest places in the world. They’re often somber and stuffy, featuring plain white walls and food that lacks seasoning. Usually, good entertainment is hard to find or altogether nonexistent. But St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital has a different style.
Joe Ronquillo, a nurse at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital has taken special initiative and care, bringing extra joy to patients every day. He performs a variety of silly and well-choreographed dances for all types of patients. Smiles can literally be seen everywhere he goes.
Joe admits to loving dance and children, thankful that he has a job where he can flex skills in both. Unsuspecting patients and long-term stays love his routines. Every now and then, he’ll pull out a plethora of Michael Jackson-esque dance moves. He’s not half bad for a nurse.
Sometimes he’ll even show his moves to curious, physically capable patients. He’s been known to teach choreography, taking them through the motions one step at a time.
Perhaps the grandest aspect of Joe’s performances includes his wide grin and unabashed enthusiasm. He doesn’t seem to do it for any other reason than he wants to, inclined to dance and make people happy.
On occasion, his performance includes a pair of backing dancers, with special alternate choreography.
At first, Joe would keep his dancing skills on the down-low, only performing for a select group of patients. He didn’t really want his employers to know, in fear of discipline. Eventually, the hospital found out about Joe’s slick dance moves due to videos posted by patients on social media. St. Luke’s proceeded to contact Joe, surprisingly overwhelmingly in support of his antics.
He expresses sincere appreciation for the support. Joe soon starred in an advertisement for St. Luke’s Hospital quickly thereafter, making him a star of sorts. The advertisement features him in scrubs walking into a patient’s room with a boombox in hand. Upon setting the device on a nearby table, he presses play and proceeds to bring a smile to a young girl’s face with his silly dancing.
Some of his patients are terminally ill, and Joe admits to not holding back or being shy around anyone, only caring to brighten their day. The only thing he cares about is putting smiles on people’s faces. He is beautifully above embarrassment. For periods of a recent Inside Edition profile, he speaks candidly and directly to the camera, detailing his mindset and methodology.
He’s a smooth operator, that’s for sure, putting smiles on the faces of his patients, including those that are terminally ill – some of which don’t have the brightest days.
Other hospitals aren’t as lax as St. Luke’s. Other nurses are different and more strict. But this isn’t a normal hospital, and this is no average Joe nurse. In fact, it’s nurse Joe Ronquillo, making the world a happier place, one smile at a time.
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