Patch Adams

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For the 1998 film, see Patch Adams (film).
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Hunter "Patch" Adams

Adams in Anaheim, California, May 15, 2008
Born May 28, 1945 (1945-05-28) (age 64)
Washington, D.C.
Spouse(s) Linda Edquist (divorced)
Children Atomic Zagnut Adams
Lars Zig Edquist Adams
Parents Robert Loughridge Adams
Anna Adams
Relatives "Wildman" Robert Loughridge Adams, Jr. (brother)

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 where they dress as clowns, to bring hope and joy to orphans, patients, and other people. In 1998 he also visited Bosnia, one of the Balkan Peninsula countries torn apart by the war that started after the break-up of Yugoslavia.

His life inspired the film Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. Adams is currently based in Arlington, Virginia, where he promotes a different health care model (i.e. one not funded by insurance policies) in collaboration with the institute.

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[edit] Early career

Whilst attending Wakefield High School in 1963, 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 girlfriend 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 and had two children.[citation needed] The elder, Atomic Zagnut Adams, was given a name indicative of Patch and his close friend Leo's personal laugh with life.[citation needed] His younger son's name is Lars Zig Edquist Adams.

[edit] Gesundheit! Institute

Main article: Gesundheit! Institute

A revamped Gesundheit! Institute, envisioned as a free, full-scale hospital and health care eco-community, is planned on 316 acres (128 ha) 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 Adams.[clarification needed]

Since the 1990s Adams has supported the Ithaca Health Alliance (IHA),[1] founded as the Ithaca Health Fund (IHF) by Paul Glover. In January 2006 IHA launched the Ithaca 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.[citation needed]

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.[2]

Adams was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award on January 29. 1997. [3]

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.[4]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] References

  1. ^ "G! { Links }". Archived from the original on Dec 10, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061210043633/http://www.patchadams.org/links/. Retrieved on 2008-12-16. "* Ithaca Health Fund * Member-owned Non-profit Mutual Health Security * www.ithacahealth.org" 
  2. ^ Marsh, Jason (Spring 2008). "Playing Doctor: An interview with Patch Adams". Greater Good Magazine (Berkeley, California: Greater Good Science Center) volume IV (4). http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/2008spring/Q_A054.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-16. "Adams has been raising money for the hospital for nearly three decades. In the meantime, he continues to lecture and lead workshops, often urging medical students to develop an ethic of care built on forming 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". 
  3. ^ The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List
  4. ^ MindFreedom International launches IAACM

[edit] External links

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