Clownversation with PATCH ADAMS

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Above all else Patch Adams considers himself an activist for peace, justice and care for all people.
At an early age Patch stood up against racism and was hospitalized three times because he didn’t want to live in a world of so much violence and injustice. Everything changed at 18, when he found his desire to serve humanity through medicine and made the commitment to himself to never have another bad day.
Patch became interested in whole systems thinking, looking for ways to integrate it with the hospital-community concepts that emerged in medical school. He envisioned a communal eco-village hospital that would address every problem of the way healthcare was delivered in one model. And in 1971 with a group of friends he created the Gesundheit Institute, a pilot hospital model, which they operated for twelve years out of their communal home.
They did this for 12 years and saw thousands of patients. The experience was enchanting. Unfortunately they were so radical that they couldn’t find funding. The staff itself paid to practice. In 1984, they realized that we couldn’t continue operating this way and Patch became a public speaker in order to raise money for a new facility.
In the last 28 years, he has created 50 presentations and performed them in 70 countries. He's spoken at 90 medical schools in the US and many more around the world. Over the course of the last two decades he has been on the road for 200-300 days of the year.
In 1985, Patch took a group of people on a clown trip to what was then the Soviet Union. Equipped with colorful clothing and compassion they visited hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly as well as just clowning on the street. Since then, these trips have been an integral part of Gesundheit´s global outreach. Apart from returning to Russia every year there have been clown trips to all corners of the world, including visits to war zones, refugee camps and natural disaster sites.