Keynote Speaker: Patch Adams

Patch Adams

Patch Adams
Keynote Fee:
$32,500 *
*Fee Note

Patch Adams Travels From: VA

Patch Adams Speaker Videos
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Biography

Medical doctor; Clown; Social Activist; Founder and Director of the Gesundheit Institute, a holistic medical community that has provided free medical care to thousands of patients since it began in 1971; Author of Gesundheit! & House Calls; Moving Speaker.

“Extraordinary! One man I can look up to and respect,” “Incredibly inspiring, amazing human being, invaluable to hear him first hand” …are among the words heard from participants’ after experiencing Patch Adams, the real person behind the hit movie “Patch Adams,” starring Robin Williams. Patch is both a medical doctor and a clown…but he is also a social activist who has devoted 30 years to changing America's healthcare system, a system that he describes as expensive and elitist.

He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process and therefore true health care must incorporate such life. Doctors and patients in his model relate to each other on the basis of mutual trust, and patients receive plenty of time from their doctors. Allopathic doctors and practitioners of alternative medicine will work side by side. If you think that all sounds like a utopian impossibility, it isn't. Patch and his colleagues practiced medicine at the Gesundheit Institute together in West Virginia that way for 12 years in what he calls their “pilot project.” They saw 15,000 patients. Patch Adams has devoted his life to the study of what makes people happy.

The Institute addresses, by action, four major issues in health care delivery: the rising cost of care, dehumanization of medicine, malpractice suits, and abuses of third-party insurance system. Dr. Adams adds to his training as a physician, his experience as a street clown. In working with health and mental health professionals, he explores the relationship between humor and therapy using his unique blend of knowledge, showmanship and “hands on” teaching techniques. Says Dr. Adams, “I interpret my experience in life as being happy. I want, as a doctor, to say it does matter to your health to be happy. It may be the most important health factor in your life.”

Patch Adams, M.D., is a nationally known speaker on wellness, laughter, and humor as well as on health care and health care systems. He approaches the issues of personal, community, and global health with “zestful exuberance,” according to Time Magazine. Dr. Adams believes that “the most revolutionary act one can commit in our world is to be happy.”

Titles

Medicine for Fun, Not Funds
A 1-3 hour lecture on the history, philosophy, and future of the Gesundheit Institute, as described above. It includes a deep dialogue with audience/participants.

The Joy Workshop: Living a life of joy
A 1-hour lecture or 3-4 hour workshop using an hour of exercises, an hour of ideas on being happy and the remainder to explore the audacious idea of living happy. Patch explores discovering one's interests and performing one's desires. It's life as a choice.

The Joy of Caring
A 1-3 hour lecture on the thrill of helping others. An inspiration talk with much dialogue to explore burnout prevention for caregivers.

Humor and Health
A 1-3 hour look at the relationship between humor and the health of the individual, community or society. Funny and inspirational. Patch tells of his over 30 years of clowning experience, of building the first silly hospital, even using humor in violence prevention.

Passion and Persistance
A 2-hour (with 40 minute discussion) 9-act show on having passions and the persistence to carry them out. Patch has organized and sustained the Gesundheit! community for over 20 years. It is still a delight and he wants to inspire others and share some of what he's learned.

Desire and Design
A 2-hour performance with 40-minute discussion on having desire and working toward the designs necessary to make it all happen.