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 enlarge | Author: Patch Adams
Creator: Maureen Mylander
Publisher: Healing Arts Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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You Save: $14.94 (100%)
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Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 72683
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Pages: 248
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 089281781X
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.101
EAN: 9780892817818
ASIN: 089281781X
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 6-10 of 20
 Finally! Medicine for people not for profit!! February 24, 2006
Stephen Pletko (London, Ontario, Canada)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
+++++
This book by Hunter "Patch" Adams, M.D. (with Maureen Mylander) is about a social revolutionary who has devoted his life to giving away health care. Adams is founder of the "Gesundheit" Institute, a home-based medical practice in West Virginia that has treated more then 15,000 people for free. The Gesundheit Institute's dream is to build a free, full-scale hospital that will be open to anyone in the world.
This book is divided into two parts. The first part generally deals with Patch's philosophy on medicine while the second part describes the dream of opening up a free hospital.
Below I will state the title of each chapter for each part and give a quotation that represents the essence of each chapter.
PART 1: (About Patch and his medical philosophy)
(1) A health care system in pain. "I believe that health care [providers] who feel burned out are not allowing the "enrapture potential" in the doctor-patient relationship."
(2) An ideal medical practice. "Nosy, curious healers who make house calls will have the time of their lives!"
(3) Humor and healing, or why we're building a silly hospital. "People crave laughter as if it were an essential amino acid."
(4) Art, nature, and imagination. "Nature tops the list of potent tranquilizers and stress reducers. The mere sound of moving water has been shown to lower blood pressure."
(5) Rebuilding self, family, community, world. "I graduated from medical school `head smart.' While living in community, however, I have built buildings, farmed, raised goats, produced movies, and learned rope walking and unicycling."
PART 2: (The dream of a free hospital)
(6) The pilot period. "People often ask, 'How did you earn a living [at the Gesundheit Institute] if you weren't charging your patients.'"
(7) The dream defined. "[In our hospital], we are a company of friends, of givers and receivers, of doctors and patients."
(8) *Gareth's Story. "We watched a beautiful, orange sunset in silence and Patch turned to me [Gareth, a patient] and said, 'Do you have arthritis while watching this.'"
(9) *Organizing dreamers. "The entire purpose of a structure at Gesundheit is to support people's enthusiastic efforts to make the world a better, therefore healthier, place."
(10) Building a dream. "The atmosphere of [our free] hospital is intended to avoid the indifference projected by so many [other health care] facilities and to convey joy, enthusiasm, peace, caring, and openness."
(11) *Living on the land. "Dream. Dream wild. Extremely wild dreams. Somewhere back there is a wild seed waiting. Of that I am sure."
(12) Light a candle: how can I help? ("I" refers to readers of this book.) "Medicine practiced as a business [as it is today] hurts everyone. The true reward of medicine come from helping others and from self-discovery...Service is essential to healing and the pathway to inner peace."
(13) Passion and persistence. "I don't want people to be amazed by our passion and persistence, but inspired by us to work long and hard for what they believe in."
(14) Five years have passed. (This chapter is for the year 1998). "[This] book has really helped bring our ideas more clearly to a much wider audience all over the world. We get thousands of letters telling how our work has inspired similar projects and people-not just in the health field but in all human endeavors."
(* These chapters are not written by the authors.)
There are fifteen black and white pictures found in the middle of this book. There are also diagrams. I found all of these amusing and informative.
Those people who feel or have been brainwashed into believing that there is nothing wrong with today's health care system will probably not appreciate this book. (This statement especially applies to those people who profit from it.) All other people should find this honest book enlightening.
The movie "Patch Adams" starring Robin Williams was, I felt, very good. Even though I saw this movie first, I still learned a lot from this book.
Finally, to catch up on the latest developments of the Gesundheit Institute, I recommend visiting Patch Adams' internet site.
In conclusion, I have not seen a family physician for fifteen years (and have vowed never to see one or any other medical provider for the rest of my life). However, if I do become seriously ill (and the illness would have to be severe), I would gladly welcome the services of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams!!!
(first published 1993; last chapter for the year 1998; publisher's preface; foreword; author's acknowledgements; co-author's preface; introduction; 2 parts or 14 chapters; main narrative 195 pages; bibliography; index)
+++++
 You can never get enough!!! June 17, 2004
Pedro Javelly (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Patch Adam's life was portrayed by Robin Williams on the Hollywood Movie with the same name. Nevertheless, Patch Adam's life isn't just what you see in the movie, actually it is much more interesting and valuable when you read the true insights of this now-famous doctor.
Patch proposes a new way to treat diseases, by treating the persons. Humor, fun, magic tricks, sunsets, animals, or whatever is needed to make a person feel better and forget about his/her pain; is his philosophy.
The book describes the road Patch has taken to fullfill his dream, and the goals he has fixed for himself and his team. Working to give free, highest quality medicine is not an easy job. Still Patch smiles with his red nose, clownish hair, and funny clothes. You can never get enough about Patch, he is inspiring, funny, and intelligent. Surely this book will make you rethink lots of concepts and ideas. Great Book!!!
Uplifting true story August 26, 2002
Blaine Greenfield (Belle Meade, NJ)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I loved the movie PATCH ADAMS, starring Robin Williams . . . even though it got mostly poor to fair reviews, see it if you can . . . you'll be uplifted by the true story of a doctor who has challenged the foundations of modern medicine not only by making healthcare personal, but by making it free . . . the movie naturally took some liberties with Adams' life, so for the whole tale I just heard the taped version of GESUNDHEIT! . . . this gives all the details
of how he and a few colleagues in 1971 founded the Gesundheit
Institute--a free hospital in West Virginia . . . it is dedicated to an unorthodox view of medicine and of the patient-doctor relationship: one employing laughter, listening and mutual respect . . . imagine being able to see a doctor and actually smiling when you do . . . and have him or her smile back at you! . . . you'll come away thinking that health care could be different; i.e., if practitioners would take heed of Adams' advice . . . the narration by Artie Johnson (of LAUGH-IN fame)was excellent.
A MAGICAL BOOK! December 9, 2001
Niki Collins Queen (Forsyth, Georgia USA)
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
Behind Patch Adams clown nose and jokes lies a social revolutionary who has devoted his life to transforming the health care system. In his book "Gesundheit" he shares a vision of a free holistic medical practice based on faith, friendship and fun. Adams life and work even inspired the producers of Universal Studios to make a movie titled "Patch Adams" staring Robin Williams.
Patch Adams is the founder of Gesundheit, a holistic home-based medical practice that managed to see more than 15,000 people without bills, malpractice insurance, formal facilities and paper work. Adams' vision is a wake-up call for all of us.
Like Adams I became discouraged when the art of counseling and medicine was replaced by the science of business and technology. During my 20 years of working as a children's counselor at a Mental Health Center I witnessed how mental health and medicine, the nations number one industries today, shifted from the community to the corporate level. When the loving human interchange between a client and counselor became more a business transaction, and the paperwork not the people became the bulk of our services due to fear of litigation, I decided it was time to retire.
In "Gesundheit" Adams discourages health care professionals from carrying malpractice insurance. When fear is the baseline from which to practice healing it encourages caregivers to prescribe "cookbook" treatments even when they believe them to be inadequate or potentially harmful. Fear and distrust makes physicians reluctant to explore alternate therapy and leads them to put patients through procedures and tests that are unnecessary and defensive. When professionals see patients as passive recipients of wisdom there is no room for humility or mistakes. A malpractice climate denies physicians the right to be imperfect.
Third-party reimbursement is also a problem. It has diverted medicine from a service to a business and become a circus act with many hoops to jump through. Doctors tend to over-order tests and overdo procedures when patients are insured. It's easier to order tests than provide care or comfort. Hospital supply companies, medical technology and pharmaceutical firms have become multimillion dollar moguls of medicine.
Another problem is that the professional distance ethic often leads to aloofness and arrogance. Many patients are described as diseases, lab values, or treatments. When people are called the names of their diseases other facets of the patient's life are neglected such as family, friends, faith, fun, work, nutrition and exercise. Life itself is bigger than illness, diagnosis, treatment and disease.
When touching is taboo and getting close to clients is forbidden we loose the magic of vulnerability and trust in a relationship. Healing happens in the relationship between the healer and the patient. A healer cannot offset the pain and suffering of a client without intimacy. Healers need the freedom to cry with and hug their patients. Transference is inevitable. Every human being has some kind of impact on another. A solid relationship creates a loving, human, creative, cooperative and open environment.
Privacy or confidentiality rules make intimacy difficult. Public disclosure strengthens relationships and helps develop a greater sense of support and understanding. Like 12-step programs the surrendering of privacy is the cornerstone of friendship and an antidote to loneliness. Our stories are important and listening to each other's stories provides the magic for healing. We are a tribal people and we need community. We need to move from the insurance of cash to the insurance of clan.
Progress has become synonymous with "advances in technology." Although modern medicine has made great strides in knowledge and technology, health care professionals are rarely vibrant with the joy of human service. Many doctors feel naked without their instruments and machines. Even though comfort, empathy, and reassurance-so vital to a medical practice requires no technology. Our magic as healers is not in our tools but in ourselves.
We also need to integrate humor and nature in healing work. Humor is a powerful antidote to pain and nature tops the list of potent stress reducers. An individual's health cannot be separated from their natural and human environment and wellness needs to include prevention of ecological disasters.
Adams' book "Gesundheid" is an excellent summary of how today's high-tech medicine has become too costly, dehumanized, mistrustful and grim and gives us a vision of what good health care could be. We not only need a better health care system but a healthier one. Profit, paperwork, medication, and medical procedures cannot be a substitute for time spent talking to and observing patients.
Mother Teresa's Mission of Charity has provided free services to the poor in over 52 continents since 1952. They accept donations from individuals not companies and have not only survived but thrived. Gesundheit, a non-religious modern day version of the Missions of Charity, also offers free services in faith not fear. Both demonstrate how giving is intoxicating and produce intimacy as a byproduct. Both show how fulfillment that comes from service is one of the great medicines of life.
Although most of us cannot give our services away for free we can learn from Adams' vision. Putting people before profit is a win win situation. When people are happy they're less likely to litigate and surprise, surprise the business ends up making a profit.
A truly fun and heart warming book June 5, 2001
JMack (Chicago)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
If you have seen the movie Patch Adams, the screen writers took some liberties with the life of Mr. Adams. The movie only tells a small distorted version of what is Patch Adams. Patch has some unconventional ideas about medicine. These ideas have led to a movement to change health care for the better. Patch has dedicated his life toward helping the less fortunate and still lives on this creed. The one story in this book which sticks out in my mind is the story of the man with arthritis. To summarize, Patch discovered that the man did not feel the pain of his arthritis while watching the sunset. The man really enjoyed watching the sunset and pleasure from this event helps him forget his pain. Thinking of something pleasurable or performing a pleasurable act helps us forget pain. As Patch Adams himself said, The best medicince is not to treat the illness, but to treat the patient." Thanks for your inspiration Patch! A great book!
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