Gesundheit! Institute

The Gesundheit! Institute, located outside of Hillsboro in rural West Virginia, was founded by Hunter "Patch" Adams in 1972. The Institute states its vision as being dedicated to revolutionizing health care delivery by replacing what the Institute sees as greed and competition with generosity and compassion.

One of the continued missions of the Gesundheit! Institute involves the concept of Humanitarian clowning. The project uses the theme of laughter as an integral element of effective doctoral care. In the past, the Gesundheit! Institute has taken clowns into the war zones in Bosnia, refugee camps in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as South African AIDS orphanages.

In October 2007, Patch Adams and the Gesundheit Board unveiled its campaign to raise $1 million dollars towards building a Teaching Center and Clinic on its land in West Virginia. The Center and Clinic will enable Gesundheit to see patients and teach health care design. [ [http://www.patchadams.org Official Website of the Gesundheit! Institute] ]

The Gesundheit! Institute was recently featured in an interview of Patch Adams, conducted by Greater Good Science Center. Adams has been raising money for the Institute for nearly three decades, and his goal is to open a 40-bed hospital in rural West Virginia that offers free, holistic health care to anyone who wants it. [ [http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/2008spring/Q_A054.html Playing Doctor: An Interview with Patch Adams] ]

Creation of Gesundheit! Institute was a topic of "Patch Adams" film (1998) starring Robin Williams. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129290/ IMDb on Patch Adams] ]

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