THE GESUNDHEIT INSTITUTE Hunter Doherty Adams, MD, has been practicing medicine for 15 years. During that time he has collected fees in the amount of $D from 15,000 patients . Dr. Adams, or Patch as he is called, runs the Gesundheit Institute, one of the most unusual health facilities in the world. Patch dreamed up the idea in medical school in 1971. He wrote a paper describing his concept of the Gesundheit Institute: a residential facility that would house staff and patients on a farm and dispense medical care at no charge. As a result of donations, the Gesundheit Institute acquired a 310 acre site in the mountains of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Volunteer architects drew up plans for a 25,000 square foot facility to provide bed space for 30 patients as well as housing for the staff. When the facility is completed land and buildings will be set up in a trust arrangement. The collective house will have a library, quiet areas, noisy areas, music areas, meeting areas, therapy areas. /1 The atmosphere," Patch says, /1 of a loving, funny, cooperative, creative home family life." Ultimately the institute plans to add a performing arts center, several orchards, and a man-made lake that will serve as a fire hydrant and also a fish farm, recreational facility, and ice skating rink. The Gesundheit Insitute will offer medical care free of charge to anyone who shows up at the door. No appointment necessary. Bring the family along, find space in the communal house or pitch a tent on the campground. The facility needs about $120;000 a year to operate. So where does the money come from? Patch views money not as a goa1, but as a means of exchange. Having received quality medical care without being asked for money, grateful patients will be motivated to provide other means of exchange. /1 People will bring pies, an old car, a book that we need, grain for our animals," Patch explains. Last year fund-raising events brought in $120,000 in private donations. For More Information: Patch Adams, Gesundheit Institute, 404 N Nelson St., Arlington, VA 22203, 703-525-8169. Fall/Winter 1986 RAIN Page 27
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