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| - His life inspired the film Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. Adams is currently based in Arlington, Virginia. In collaboration with the institute, he promotes a different health care model (i.e. one not funded by insurance policies).
- Hunter "Patch" commits himself into a mental institution. Once there, he finds that using humor to help his fellow patients gives him a purpose in life. Because of this he wants to become a medical doctor and two years later enrolls at the Medical College of Virginia (now known as VCU School of Medicine) as the oldest first year student. He questions the school's soulless approach to medical care and clashes with the school's Dean Walcott, who believes that doctors must treat patients as patients and not bond with them as people. Because of this and incidents such as setting up a giant pair of legs during an obstetric conference, he is expelled from the medical school, although he is later reinstated due to his methods actually helping patients improve. He even goes to a meat packer's conv
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| abstract
| - Hunter "Patch" commits himself into a mental institution. Once there, he finds that using humor to help his fellow patients gives him a purpose in life. Because of this he wants to become a medical doctor and two years later enrolls at the Medical College of Virginia (now known as VCU School of Medicine) as the oldest first year student. He questions the school's soulless approach to medical care and clashes with the school's Dean Walcott, who believes that doctors must treat patients as patients and not bond with them as people. Because of this and incidents such as setting up a giant pair of legs during an obstetric conference, he is expelled from the medical school, although he is later reinstated due to his methods actually helping patients improve. He even goes to a meat packer's convention and uses a butcher's jacket that he is given to impersonate a third-year med-student and infiltrate rounds. Adams encourages medical students to work closely with nurses, learn interviewing skills early, and argues that death should be treated with dignity and sometimes even humor. Adams begins a friendship with fellow student Carin Fisher, and develops his idea for a medical clinic built around his philosophy of treating patients using humor and compassion. With the help of Arthur Mendelson, a wealthy man who was a patient whom Patch met while in the mental hospital, he purchases 105 acres (425,000 m²) in West Virginia to construct the future Gesundheit! Institute. Together with Carin, medical student Truman Schiff, and some old friends, he renovates an old cottage into a clinic. When they get the clinic running, they treat patients without medical insurance and perform comedy sketches for them. Carin and Patch's friendship soon turns into romance. When she tells him that her whole life, men had molested her, Patch comforts her and reassures her that she can overcome her pain to help others. Encouraged, Carin wants to help a disturbed patient, Lawrence "Larry" Silver. Larry murders Carin then kills himself. Patch is devastated and guilt-ridden by Carin's death. He reconsiders his outlook, and questions the goodness of humanity. Standing on a cliff, he contemplates suicide and questions God about what happened. He then sees a butterfly which reminds him of Carin's telling him earlier how she always wished she was a caterpillar that could someday transform itself and fly away. The butterfly lands on his medical bag and afterward on his shirt before flying away. This appears to Patch to be Carin reincarnated and it revives his spirits, and he decides to continue his work in her honor. However he is expelled from medical school a second time for running a clinic and practicing medicine without a license. He files a grievance with the state medical board at the advice of his former medical school roommate, Mitch Roman. Patch is able to convince the board that he did his best to help the people that came to him, and as a doctor it is his responsibility to treat the body and the spirit. The board accepts Patch's methods and decides to allow him to graduate. He receives a standing ovation from the packed hearing room. At graduation, after handing Adams his diploma, Walcott approves of Patch's apparent conformity, after which Patch bows to the professors and the audience, revealing a nude bottom under his gown.
- His life inspired the film Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. Adams is currently based in Arlington, Virginia. In collaboration with the institute, he promotes a different health care model (i.e. one not funded by insurance policies). In "Baby Not On Board", Peter Griffin thinks that sending Glenn Quagmire and Cleveland Brown over to the house to keep an eye on Stewie Griffin would be a great idea because they are good with kids, comparing them to Patch Adams. Adams is seen at a hospital entertaining dying children. The children do not find him amusing, in fact are in more pain from the routine. One child goes as far to pull his own life support plug.
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