Patch Adams to speak at Cornell

MOUNT VERNON — The inspiration for the hit movie Patch Adams will speak on “Humor and Health,” at Cornell College on Wednesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in King Chapel. Admission is free and open to the public.

Adams ’ speech will examine the relationship between humor and the health of the individual, community or society. He will also incorporate elements of his talk on “Medicine for Fun, not Funds.”

Adams is a doctor, clown, and social activist, as well as the founder of the Gesundheit Institute, a holistic medical community that has provided free health care to thousands of patients since 1971. He is also the author of Gesundheit and Housecalls.

This event is co-sponsored by MercyCare Mount Vernon, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and the Cornell Performing Arts and Activities Council.

Adams ’ lecture is part of an annual series sponsored by the Cornell program Dimensions: The Center for the Science and Culture of Healthcare. The series addresses the interdisciplinary areas of science, the humanities and the social sciences. Previous programming has featured a lecture by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (2005), a symposium with representatives of the sports medicine and athletic training programs at the University of Iowa, along with football coach Kirk Ferentz (2006), and the author of The God Gene, Dean Hamer (2007).