I think that the loss of the house call has been the biggest blow to the art of medicine in this century. Not only has the patient lost this precious… - Patch Adams

The strongest thing I do is that I take people on clown trips....And I give them a bunch of clown clothes, and I take them places where people are suffering, and everyone becomes a player. And it's usually instantaneous....We've taken clowns into war, into refugee camps....We start with simple things: blowing up a balloon, blowing bubbles, having a puppet. But it isn't long before they see that the world of play is a gigantic universe...Because it isn't just about play; it's about opening up your life and your being and your ability to connect with people...play connects you instantly with anyone in the world, without language.

I'll give you an example — in Russia most of the hospitals don't have any pain medicine, they don't have any money. So if you're with kids with cancer, they can have metastases to the bone; which some say is the worst pain a human can experience. So a mother can be in a room with a child who hasn't stopped screaming in five months. ...85% of the time I walk in there as a clown they'll stop screaming.

If I plant the idea that you really are a responsible person, that your life and life around you is affected by you, even though you're only one person, life can become very exciting.