Recent Happenings
Summer 2007
Visitor Weekend
Our Summer Visitors Weekend, July 5-8 brought 19 new people to the land from Japan, England, Canada, Norway, Sweeden, Italy and the USA—quite the international group! Some of the attendees were also students in the July session of the Health Care Design Intensive. People harvested and hung the garlic for drying; picked 50 lbs of blueberries from a nearby blueberry farm; swam in the pond; helped with tree removal; cleaned and sorted the second floor fabric and craft closets; worked preparing beds in the garden. Our youngest visitor was aged 2 years and did a marvelous job mooning people on the front lawn; demonstrating a clear early understanding of one of the G! modes of play.
Health Care Design Elective
The July session of the Health Care Design Elective was attended by seven students who represented the countries of Norway, Sweeden, Italy, Canada, Israel, and the USA. During the month, the students: participated in discussions on language, design and systems; went health care clowning at a nearby nursing home; made house calls to a local matriarch and other locals; worked in our organic garden; cooked meals from whole foods in our farmhouse kitchen; collaborated with our volunteers on work/play projects; and presented their designs to the staff and volunteers at the end of the month.
Newest Land Staff
At the July Board Meeting, John Glick, MD and board member, had the pleasure of introducing our newest Land Staff member, Maggie Scott, who takes on the role of Land Mama and Volunteer/Visitor Coordinator. Maggie has been a volunteer with Gesundheit since February 16th, arriving amid the snow from her last gig at a northern California American Bison ranch, as the gardener and Chick Mom. Maggie, among her other talents, is an accomplished seamstress and has managed to complete 32 pairs of “Fat Pants”—similar to what Patch wears—for various volunteers, instructors, students, board members, and visitors between the end of May and mid-August. Find out how you too can be wearing a fabulous pair of Mama Maggie's vision of “Linda Edquist's Fat Pants” to your local heath care clowning gigs.
New Resident Chickens!
Thirty 30 Americana and Black Jersey Giant chicks have joined the Gesundheit Family. They lived for the next five weeks in the greenhouse pen build by the women of JMU during their ASB. On April 17th, the babies moved out to the Palatial Poultry Pen. The chickens like to free-range on the Gesundheit property, eating bugs, fallen apples, tomatoes, grass, seeds, and anything else they can find; and run out to greet people walking around. With some attrition, both natural and assisted, the flock is down to 16 chickens—hens and roosters combined. On August 27, the first two eggs were laid!
Recent Volunteers
Recent Volunteers have contributed greatly to the Gesundheit landscape.
The “Love Bench” by Michael Morin, Quebec, Canada graces the lawn near the big Yurt.
The mural for the Solar Shower was conceived, designed and coordinated by Cheri Faris, of Toronto, Canada; and painted by Cheri, volunteer Laurie Meinholz, and Maggie Scott.
Spring 2007
Alternative Spring Breaks
We hosted an Alternative Spring Break group from James Madison University March 3-10. During their stay, they helped us tap the maple trees and collect sap; planted garlic; built a baby chick pen in the greenhouse; assisted in cataloging the library; inventoried donated medical supplies; cleaned and organized the second floor of the Woodshop; replenished and raked the driveway gravel; and picked up roadside trash along Locust Creek Road and Rt. 201. We spent a day clowning in the city of Richwood, visiting the hospital, nursing home, and elementary school; and were hosted by Mayor Bob Henry Baber at city Council Chambers. In the evenings, the group learned more about the Gesundheit model of health care delivery and held a No-Talent Show on their last evening.
For our Spring Visitor Weekend, April 5-8, we hosted an Alternative Spring Break group of 8 students and 3 teachers from Ballard County (Kentucky) Career & Technical School. Although snow and cold precluded much outdoor fun, we did clear debris from the Ridge Trail and Treehouse sites. We went clowning at the Richwood Area Hospital. We also held a No-Talent Show of which the highlights included a demonstration on the proper way to fold towels and a marvelous dance routine choreographed by one of the students.
We hosted 9 medical students from the University of Pittsburgh the weekend of May 11. The group helped Maggie prepare garden beds for planting; planted spring onions; summer-ized the Farmhouse Porch and Circus Kitchen; and began construction of a tent platform in the festival meadow. In the evenings, we talked about “Performance in Everyday Life” and watched “The Real Patch Adams” and “Everyone Can Make a Fool of Themselves”.
Last, but certainly not least, of our Alternative School Break groups was a group from Colorado State University. Ten students joined us from May 20-26. They helped in the garden; mowed the pasture; finished the tent deck; performed trail maintenance on the Ridge Trail; and started building the Pond Garden fence. Wildeman came and led them in a tie-dye workshop; our clothesline overflowed with glorious colored shirts and scarves! We took them to visit Joel Rosenthal at his Point of View Farm; Joel described his wildlife rescue program and fed us a wonderful picnic lunch. In the evenings, we examined the Gesundheit model of health care delivery. A No-Talent show topped off the week.
Winter 2006-2007
Alternative Winter Breaks
We hosted an Alternative Winter Break group from Vanderbilt University Dec. 17th – 22nd. They helped us stack winter fire wood and cleared construction debris from The Tree House site. Led by long-time Gezoonie John Glick, they clowned at the Pocahontas Care Center in Marlinton. We had nightly educational activities during which they learned more about the Gesundheit! model of health care delivery.
Health Care Justice Gathering
January 3rd – 5th we hosted a fabulous Health Care Justice Gathering! Twenty-eight medical student activists from across the country participated in discussions and workshops designed to help them use their status has physicians to bring about positive social change. A film crew was here from the television show “The Torch”, recording interviews with the presenters and students. We all sang “All You Need is Love” for the show’s closing moment.
Health Care Design Elective
Three medical students participated in the February session. Topics covered during the elective included: the use of language, including the language of ecological systems and “framing”; health democracy; permaculture; local economic transaction systems (LETS); gift economy; paradigms of poverty and wealth, performance in every day life; and love strategy.
During the month, in addition to extensively reading and writing, the students made house calls to area residents, went clowning at the Pocahontas Care Center in Marlinton, and provided free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings at the Hillsboro Library.
For additional information about the elective, click here.
Fall 2006
Visitor Weekend
We welcomed folks for our Fall Visitor Weekend Sept. 7 – 10th. Nine visiting Gezoonies helped lay a flag stone walk in front of the Dacha, cleaned and stored our garlic harvest, picked up roadside trash along Rt. 219, sifted top soil from our dirt/rock pile and “top dressed” the Dacha Lawn. We held nightly educational offerings, including “The Real Patch Adams” and “Clown in Kabul” videos, and had an inspiring session on Health Care Delivery Design.
Click here for more information about upcoming Visitor Weekends.
Medical Student Clowns
Twelve first-year medical students from The Ohio State University College of Medicine spent November 9 - 12th performing community service on The Land.
The first day was spent performing work projects on the Gesundheit! 317 acre property. The students completed work on the flagstone walkway, put the finishing touches on a mountain spring development project, split and stacked firewood, cut and cleared plants from the garden, and cooked meals from whole foods.
Day Two the students learned hospital clowning techniques and etiquette, with an emphasis on care, compassion and attentive, empathetic listening. They then took their performance to the Richwood Area Community Hospital in Richwood, WV, where they entertained residents of the nursing home section with songs, balloons and fun clown antics. In honor of Veterans Day, while shopping at Foodland in Richwood, the clowns posed for a photo to be sent to Steven, a Marine currently serving in Iraq.
Evening activities included educational programs about Gesundheit! and a Saturday night “No Talent” show.
At the end of their weekend at Gesundheit!, the students participated in a “Red Nosing” ceremony, during which they received a red clown nose to take with them for future health care clowning.
Medical students interested in more information about educational and volunteer opportunities can contact us in West Virginia.
Community Activities
We participated in a number of activities in the local community. We clowned twice at the Pocahontas Care Center; their monthly birthday parties are now a regular performance for us. We clowned at the Marlinton Harvest Festival “Road Kill Cook-off”, handing out origami peace cranes we made under the direction of volunteer Shizue. We participated in Poetry Night in Richwood. We hosted fourteen guests for a Thanksgiving Day meal, inviting those we knew would otherwise be alone.
Summer 2006
School for Designing a Society
The Urbana, Illinois-based School for Designing a Society offered a 4-week session here in June. Twenty students from the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand and South Africa attended seminars, participated in design groups, and gave performances based on their social desires.
Guest presenters included Patch, education author Nel Noddings, political economist Bob Naiman, movement-based theater artists Lisa Fay and Jeff Glassman, cybernetician Larry Richards, and political folk duo The Prince Myshkins.
For more information about the School for Designing a Society, click here.
Health Care Design Elective
Three students participated in the inaugural July session of the Health Care Design Elective. This extended version of the Health Care Design Intensive provides the participants with time, tools and community to explore the questions “What health care delivery system do I want?” and “How do I begin to design and implement that?”
During the month, the students: participated in discussions on language, design and systems; heard presentations on permaculture, the Canadian health care system, a “friendology” acupuncture practice, wellness chiropractic, and health co-ops; went health care clowning at a small rural hospital and nearby nursing home; made house calls to a local matriarch; worked in our organic garden; cooked meals from whole foods in our farmhouse kitchen; collaborated with our volunteers on work/play projects; and presented their designs to the staff and volunteers at the end of the month.
For additional information about the elective, click here.
Organic Gardening
A-hoy, Mates! Under the direction of Agriculture Activist David Schmucker, aka “Captain Schmuck,” our gardens have grown into a sea of green delights! Using organic and bio-intensive methods, David has steered the ship of sustainability away from greed-based multinational food corporations to the shores of healthy local food production. First Garden Mate Crystal Yates-White has supervised on-site food preservation, utilizing fermentation, pickling, canning and drying.
Volunteers
Our volunteers are fabulous! While participating in the G!I community work and play, they learn more about Patch's vision for health care so they can return to their homes and spread the vision further.
Volunteers Andrew, Mike, Chie, Yoko, and Libby performed the amazing feat of feeding 35-plus people during the month-long School for Designing a Society. Their innovative and deliciously healthy whole foods delivery system delighted all of us! Mariko, a music therapist from Japan, has kept the Farmhouse, Dacha and Workshop shiny clean, as well as entertaining us with her accordion and flute playing. Cowboy Rich from Colorado has been invaluable in the garden. Brothers Jim and Don created an amazing bird-like deck railing on the Egal Dorm. Erica, Andy, Laura, and Sam each contributed their talents and stories.
We had fun clowning at the Pocahontas Care Center and for the Pediatric Health Fair at Pocahontas Memorial Hospital. Rich taught us the Cowboy Cha-cha and other dances. Andrew, Libby and Crystal competed in the Scenic Mountain Triathalon, sporting their G!I tutus. We were proud of Libby's third place finish in her age group! Concerts in Marlinton, square dances in Renick, gatherings with friends ― all contributed to the happy health of our community.
For additional information about how to volunteer, click here.
Spring 2006
Alternative Spring Breaks
If it's March it must be time for college Spring Breaks! While some college
students head for the beach to party,
others use their spring break
to perform community service. Alternative Spring Break
(ASB) programs,
which are alcohol and drug-free, have been gaining popularity the past
few years as students become more interested in service and social involvement.
The Gesundheit! Institute in Hillsboro hosted two Alternative Spring Break
groups this year. Ten students from Western Michigan University arrived
Feb. 26th and stayed until March 3rd. Nine students
and their staff learning partner
from James Madison University (JMU)
were here from March 4th to March 12th.
While staying at Gesundheit!, the students helped with on-site work projects including maple sugaring, garden-bed preparation, seed-flat building, and library cataloging. They cooked meals from fresh whole foods; for many this was their first food preparation experience! For their community service projects, students picked up trash along Route 219 between Locust Creek Road and Hillsboro. Students also dressed as clowns and visited residents of the Pocahontas Care Center in Marlinton.
A significant component of the ASB experience at Gesundheit! is education. Daily programs are based upon the Gesundheit! Vision for world peace, social justice and recognition that the health of the individual cannot be separated from the health of the community. An attempt is made to weave into the Deep Time story of humanity the unique story of each individual participating in the program. Recognition of humanity's current ecological condition, that of apparent significant overshoot, and the coming era of energy descent, are important points of consideration. Feedback from students over the past several years for the developing Gesundheit! program has been overwhelmingly positive.
Medical Students
We hosted five second-year medical students and a professor of medicine
from The Ohio State University College of Medicine for a 3-day Mini-Module
course. Together we learned about medicinal herbs on nature-walks led by
Bonnie; collected and cleaned lots of ramps, a wild, edible
allium; inoculated shitake logs; went health care clowning; learned Laughter
Yoga
; and participated in evening education programs including Design/Discussion
groups on Agriculture in the Context of Community
and Designing
Desirable Health Care Delivery Systems.
We had some intense, provocative,
and fun discussions! For more information on educational offerings for
medical students, click here.
We got pigs!
Utilizing the permaculture principles of local food production and stacking
functions,
our Agriculture Activist David hooked up with a local
Mennonite farmer and bought two pigs to help till garden beds. Fraanc
built (and decorated!) their happy home. Crystal has been feeding, watering,
and generally looking after their daily needs. The pigs have rooted two
big garden plots for us, and have accelerated soil fertilization by eating
our kitchen scraps. They will eventually supply us with organic pork.
Winter 2005-2006
Visitors
Among the many delights of living on the land is the opportunity to meet interesting and socially involved people. "Nutworking" with fellow activists is an important part of our work.
In December we were treated with a visit by Paul Glover and his friend Erica Van Etten. Paul, a friend of Patch, is the founder of the Ithaca Health Alliance, PhilaHealthia, and Health Democracy.
Another activist spent time with us in January. Dsane works with the organizations A World Beyond Capitalism and The Institute of Pamela. PAMELA is an acronym for peaceful alliances facilitated by multilingual, multiracial education, handicapable outreach and native language accessibility. "T" gave us a presentation on multi-culturalism and inclusiveness in activism.
Health Care Justice Gathering
In an attempt to stimulate the dialogue on health care justice, 25 health care student activists from the United States, Canada, and Mexico gathered on the land January 13th-15th.
This year's event was coordinated by: Michelle Yu, a third-year MD/PhD student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Jennifer Jenkins, a second-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin; and Tasha Zaman, a medical student at Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The weekend was filled with health care-related talks and workshops:
- Patch talked with the students about the history of Gesundheit! and his vision for health care.
- Meaghan Combs, a second-year MD/MPH student at Tulane University, facilitated a discussion on racism in health care. The discussion was based on her experience at a workshop held by The People's Institute.
- Susan Johnston, RN, a native of Canada, spoke about Manitoba Artists in Health Care (MAH).
- Rolande Kirouac, also from Canada, gave a workshop on "Laughter Yoga." Based on research by Dr. Madan Kataria, a family physician from Mumbai, India, Laughter Yoga™ technique is a blend of yogic deep breathing, stretching, simulated laughter exercises and cultivated child-like playfulness.
- Drs. Gene and Linda Farley gave a presentation about Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), a not-for-profit organization of physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals that support a national health insurance program. The Farleys are family practitioners on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
- Ginevra Sanguigno and John Glick, MD led a workshop on emotions, performance, and status. Because medical school education is so emotionally demanding and at times dehumanizing, the workshop included techniques to help the students keep in touch with their feelings. The students were encouraged to use their status has physicians to bring about social change.
- Susan Parenti directed the students in a workshop to think about their "wants" and design their own health care delivery system.
The students ended the Gathering with a closing circle, during which they revealed their inner "Super Hero" to continue their health care activism. Students volunteered to coordinate another Health Care Justice Gathering in January of 2007.
Community Involvement
To nourish our connections with the local community, those of us living on the land participate in a variety of organizations and activities:
- Crystal Yates-White has been an important part of the "Town and Country Handshake" pen pal program at the Pocahontas County elementary schools.
- Resident Agriculture Activist David Schmucker has been networking with local gardeners. He hosted a "garden party" for some of them.
- Land Caretakers Frank and Bonnie Gifford have been active in the Southern Monongehela Wilderness Group. This subgroup of the WV Wilderness Coalition supports wilderness protection in the Monongehela National Forest.
- Frank, David, and Crystal went clowning at the Beckley VA hospital with WV Rural Health Education Partnership (RHEP) students.
- David and Crystal tutor at High Rocks Academy, an organization that fosters leadership and self esteem in high school girls. Frank and Bonnie read for students at the Hillsboro Elementary School; Crystal reads at Marlinton Elementary.
G!I volunteers are encouraged to participate in these and other community happenings.
Fall 2005
Dacha Doin's
We were thrilled to finish the landscaping around the Russia-inspired Dacha! Dave Sellers, architect extraordinaire, spent a day here in July designing and planning the bridge over the creek, the patio outside the lower east entrance, the extension of the north porch, and the surrounding stone wall. Coordinated by Fraanc over the following three months, craftsmen John, Zak, Simon, and Curtis, along with numerous volunteers, worked their magic to bring Dave's vision to reality. The Dacha is to be featured in an upcoming segment of HG-TV's "Offbeat America."
Visitor Weekend
We welcomed 14 folks for our September Visitor Weekend. They came from places far and near: D.C., Maryland, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, New Mexico, Canada, North Carolina, and even Japan! They helped gather 20 pallets of rocks from the creek bed for use in the Dacha rock wall. They readied garlic for planting, gathered and pared apples, helped repair costumes, and split and stacked firewood for us. They produced an incredibly hilarious Friday Night "No-Talent Show!" We watched The Real Patch Adams and Clownin' Kabul—both of which were followed by in-depth discussions about living and spreading the Gesundheit! Vision and looking at our lives in the greater context of the Human Family. The weekend ended with a very emotional closing circle, as many visitors expressed their own personal transformations during the weekend and their commitment to living Gesundheit! in their own parts of the world.
Medical Student Clowns
We hosted eight medical students from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health for a long weekend in November. They came to fulfill their required 12 hours of community service. They learned about hospital clowning, then took their performance to a local nursing home. Many of the residents of the nursing home joined in the fun in the home's activities room, clapping and singing with the guitar and mandolin music played by the clowns. A number of the residents danced with the clowns. Balloon games were played. Residents unable to leave their rooms were treated to clown visits in their rooms. At the end of their weekend, the students participated in a "red nosing" ceremony, during which they received a red nose to take with them for future health care clowning.
Medical students interested in more information about educational and volunteer opportunities can contact us in West Virginia.
We're Wi-Fi'ed!
Thanks to Fraanc's patience and persistence, the Farmhouse, Dacha, and courtyard have entered the technology age! High speed satellite internet wi-fi access is now available in those areas. Fraanc's next task is extending the network to the Workshop.
Developing Community
In keeping with the Gesundheit! Vision of the health of the individual and community being inseparable, those of us living on the land are working daily on optimizing our personal and interpersonal health. Early morning meditations, evening "Circles," open and honest communication, nourishing food choices, keeping informed of world events, and service in the surrounding community are all helping us to establish the core of a strong community for the future hospital site.
