Meet 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 which he describes as expensive and
elitist.
American
filmmaker Judith Bourque, longterm resident of Sweden, traveled to West
Virginia to Gesundheit Institute, the non-profit foundation that Patch
created to make real the building of a dream. There, amongst beautiful
mountains, hardwood forests and waterfalls, Gesundheit advocates are
constructing a wholistic rural hospital and healthcare community based
on the vision of what healthcare should be like. That means patient
care where laughter, joy and creativity will be an integral part of the
healing process. Healthcare will be provided without cost and doctors
will carry no malpractice insurance. Doctors and patients will relate
to each other on the basis of mutual trust, and patients will 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 together that way for 12 years in what he
calls their "pilot project". They saw 15,000 patients.
Through an
in-depth interview with Patch you will hear his story...about the
journey from suicidal despair in his youth to making the decision to
devote his life to the study of what makes people happy. The viewer
will also get to follow Patch on his travels to other countries as he
clowns for sick children or teaches courses in "The Joy of Living".
This film
provides the opportunity to think about some very important subjects in
a light hearted and thoroughly entertaining manner. It is of interest
to anyone who works in healthcare, as well as anyone who is or will
ever be a patient...in other words, everyone.
JUDITH BOURQUE is
also an experienced leader of workshops relating to body-mind
techniques, and is available for either a lecture or a laughter
workshop along with a showing of this documentary. She can be reached
at judithbourque@email.com.
The DVD version
of this program is recorded on DVD-R which is not compatible with some
older DVD players. See the new DVD page for
more details.
Awards:
Honorable Mention,
Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Gothenburg Film Festival
Western Psychological Association Annual Convention
Reviews:
"Anyone who enjoyed
the Hollywood version of this story...should check this documentary
out...A welcome change from HMOs and managed care!" Fellowship Magazine
"'The fool performs a sacred role in the community...a teller of
truth standing naked in the marketplace...confronting the powerful with
playful disorder.' This commentary, from Ken Feit, aptly describes
the enigma that is Patch Adams...Perfect for college courses...an
effective documentary of the power of the human spirit, and one man's
quest to address the problems in the American health care system."
Jennifer Harrison, North Carolina Wesleyan College
"For high school and up; useful to stimulate discussion of humor,
healing, and values. Recommended." Melinda Davis, Univ. of Tennessee
Law Library, MC Journal
"Whether you hail 'Patch' as an example of what doctors should be like,
or dislike him because of his constant in-your-face clowning, this
program allows you to base your opinion on fact, not movie fiction.
Recommended." *** Video Librarian
"Finally a physician who understands that wholeness means incorporating
every aspect of the human experience. Don't miss this rare opportunity
to see the work of a true healer." Leo G. Frangipane, M.D.
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