Patch Adams

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Hunter "Patch" Adams 2008

Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams (born May 28, 1945 in Washington, DC ) is an American doctor . He founded the Gesundheit! In 1972 . Institutes . His life was the model for the movie Patch Adams with Robin Williams in the title role. Adams now lives in Arlington , Virginia , where he practices alternative healing in collaboration with the Institute.

Patch Adams is also a social activist, citizen diplomat, professional clown, performer, and writer. Every year he organizes a group of volunteer clowns from all over the world who travel together to Russia to give hope to orphans , the sick and everyone else. In 1998 he also visited Bosnia-Herzegovina . He is also the patron of the Berlin association namu Art for Life Network e. V. , with whose actors he has been visiting children in Berlin clinics since 2009.

Early career

Patch Adams received his PhD from the Medical College of Virginia in 1971. He is convinced of a strong connection between the environment and wellbeing. He believes that the health of the individual cannot be separated from the family, the community, and the whole world. In this spirit, health became of him and some friends ! Institute founded that existed for twelve years as a free institution.

Health! Institutes

A modified form of the institute is planned in West Virginia: a free clinic in a health-oriented eco-community. The aim is to combine a traditional hospital with alternative medicine ( acupuncture , homeopathy, etc.). The care should include medical treatment, but also artistic expression, handicrafts, nature experience, soil management and relaxation. Volunteers are already being asked for help on the project website, even though the hospital itself has not yet been built. They are currently working with the local women's prison and a small hospital in the region. This work is documented by some videos and books (see website).

Political activist

Patch Adams has also appeared as a political activist: One movement he supports is MindFreedom International . The association of around a hundred initiatives advocates the human rights of patients diagnosed with mental disorders. Adams plays a leading role in the fight against President George W. Bush's proposed "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health" ("New Freedom Commission on Mental Health").

Former MindFreedom International executive director David Oaks said that "President Bush wants every American to be screened for 'mental health'". Adams responded by offering to investigate Bush: “He needs a lot of help. I will receive it for free. "

See also

literature

  • Patch Adams, Maureen Mylander : Health! - brings a breath of fresh air into the sails of your health, into the health system and our entire social system in a unique way - through the successful combination of conventional medical help with alternative therapy methods, humor and joy. Zwölf & Zwölf, Oberursel 1999, ISBN 3-930657-40-6 .
  • Patch Adams: Home visits - the slightly different way of healing people. With cartoons by Jerry VanAmerongen and a foreword by Robin Williams. Heyne, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-453-15991-8 .
  • Literature by and about Patch Adams in the catalog of the German National Library

Web links

Commons : Patch Adams  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ executive director
  2. ↑ Heather Woksuch: Let's Go Crazy: The Decline in US Mental Health Under Bush. mindfreedom.org, February 11, 2007, accessed on April 22, 2014 (English): "President Bush wants to test all Americans for 'mental illness.' [...] He needs a lot of help. I'll see him for free. "
personal data
SURNAME Adams, Patch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adams, Hunter Doherty (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American doctor
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC , United States