Hunter Campbell "Patch" Adams, M.D. (born May 28, 1945 in
Washington,
D.C.
) is an American
physician, social activist, citizen diplomat, professional clown,
performer, and author. He founded the
Gesundheit! Institute in 1972.
Each year he organizes
a group of volunteers from around the world to travel to various
countries (including post-war Bosnia
in 1998) where they dress as clowns, to bring hope
and joy to orphans, patients, and other
people.
His life inspired the
film Patch Adams, starring
Robin Williams.
Adams is currently
based in Arlington,
Virginia
. In collaboration with the institute, he
promotes a different health care model (i.e. one not funded by
insurance policies).
Early career
After
school (1963) from Wakefield High School 
, Adams completed pre-med coursework at the George
Washington University
. He began medical
school without an undergraduate
degree, and earned his Doctor of
Medicine degree at the Medical College of Virginia
, Health Sciences Division of Virginia
Commonwealth University
in 1971. In the late 60s, one of his closest
male friends (not his female friend as seen in the
movie) was murdered. Convinced of the
powerful connection between
environment and
wellness, he believes the
health of an individual cannot be separated from the
health of the family, community, and the world. While working in an
adolescent clinic at MCV, in his final year of med school, he met
Linda Edquist, a volunteer in the clinic and student at VCU. Soon
after graduation, Patch, Linda, and friends founded the
Gesundheit! Institute (originally known to many as
the Zanies), which ran as a free community hospital for 12
years.
Adams and Edquist married (1970s) and had two children. The elder,
Atomic Zagnut Adams, was given a name indicative of Patch and his
close friend Leo's personal laugh with life. His younger son's name
is Lars Zig Edquist Adams.
Gesundheit! Institute
A revamped Gesundheit!
Institute, envisioned as a free, full-scale hospital and
health care eco-community, is planned on in Pocahontas
County, West Virginia
. Its goal is to integrate a traditional
hospital with
alternative medicine--
acupuncture,
homeopathy, etc. Care will combine
integrative medicine with
performing arts, crafts, nature,
agriculture, and
recreation. The West Virginia location accepts
seasonal volunteers through the website. The new hospital has not
been built as Adams continues to seek funding. The current
caretaker staff at the West Virginia site consists of one person,
but claims to be actively developing educational programs in
sustainable systems design targeted to
medical students, university alternative
break groups, and the general public. Several videos and books have
also been produced including the 1998 movie, "Patch Adams".
Since the 1990s Adams has supported the
Ithaca Health Alliance (IHA), founded
as the Ithaca Health Fund (IHF) by
Paul
Glover. In January 2006 IHA launched theIthaca Free Clinic,
bringing to life key aspects of Adams' vision. Adams has also given
strong praise to
Health Democracy, Glover's book
written and published the same year.
In October 2007, Adams and the Gesundheit Board unveiled its
campaign to raise $1 million towards building a Teaching Center and
Clinic on its land in West Virginia. Adams' girlfriend, Susan
Parenti is the impetus behind this project. The Center and Clinic
will enable Gesundheit to see patients and teach health care
design.
Adams urges medical students to develop compassionate connections
with their patients. His prescription for this kind of care relies
on humor and play, which he sees as essential to physical and
emotional health. Ultimately, Adams wants the
Gesundheit! Institute to open a 40-bed hospital in
rural West Virginia that offers free,
holistic care to anyone who wants it.
Adams was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award on
January 29, 1997.
In 2008, Adams agreed to become honorary chair of the
"International Association for the Advancement of Creative
Maladjustment" or IAACM. In a number of his speeches and essays,
Martin Luther King, Jr. had called for such an IAACM, but none was
ever created. MindFreedom International, a nonprofit coalition that
Gesundheit! belongs to as a sponsor group, launched the IAACM to
support "creative maladjustment" and social change.
The website of the Gesundheit Institute states that "at the end of
the film
Patch Adams,
Universal Studios inserted the inaccurate
statement that Gesundheit had already built its free hospital" and
that "this false claim hindered Gesundheit's ability to fundraise
for the free hospital" however it adds that "the movie itself
raised visibility and helped launch a decade of teaching and Global
Outreach." Patch Adams himself in an interview was critical of
Robin Williams, stating, "He made 21 million dollars for four
months of pretending to be me, in a very simplistic version, and
did not give $10 to my free hospital. Patch Adams, the person,
would have, if I had Robin's money, given
all 21 million
dollars to a free hospital in a country where 80 million cannot get
care."
Bibliography
- 4 sound cassettes (ca. 6 hr.) : digitally mastered, Dolby
processed.
- 1 videocassette (53 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
References
- {{cite web |url=http://www.patchadams.org/links/ |title=G! {
Links } |accessdate=2008-12-16
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061210043633/http://www.patchadams.org/links/
|archivedate=Dec 10, 2006 |quote=* Ithaca Health Fund *
Member-owned Non-profit Mutual Health Security *
www.ithacahealth.org}}
- PatchAdams.org History
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