Code Black is a 2013 documentary that
chronicles events at the Emergency Department of LA County Hospital, the
busiest ED in America. We follow the
lives of a team of resident doctors as they strive to care for all of the
patients that flood their waiting room during “code black”—when the patients
outweigh the resources of the ED. Code Black proved to be very successful,
winning best documentary at the LA film festival. This film aims to expose the problems of America’s
broken healthcare system and the hardships that county hospitals face, including
lack of funds to staff adequately and the poor ER conditions for patients.
In
this film, we are shown two versions of LA County Hospital, “Old County” and “New
County”, which give dramatically different impressions of an emergency
department. “Old Country” is a picture of doctors working together with one
goal in mind—to save their patient’s life, no hesitation. In “New County”, the doctors are faced with
many problems which this film seeks to uncover. We see them drowning in paperwork
while there are hundreds of patients in their waiting room, who could have been
there for close to 20 hours. The insufficient
staffing, and inadequate funds to hire enough staff in the first place, greatly
contributes to this problem as well. In addition, these doctors struggle to find
intimacy in their relationships with their patients, meanwhile spending twice
as much documenting it.
The
prime audience for this film includes doctors, nurses, or any other healthcare
worker that would be drawn to watch a medical documentary. As a nursing student, I chose to watch this
documentary because I want to be informed about the industry that will eventually
employ me. Since this film is available
on Netflix, it can show up in viewers “cues” based on what they’ve previously watched,
and therefore can gain viewers that way as well. The government is also a
target audience for this film. Although government
regulations for medical care were implemented to protect the patient, we are
shown throughout the film howthey can actually prevent care. Resident Doctor Pomeranz states in the film, “The
amount of forms that it takes to get a patient registered, taken care of, and
discharged is upwards of 50 to 60… They’re trying to guarantee patient’s
safety, but in doing so they’re killing the team and killing the relationship… It
becomes a bucket of paperwork to save someone’s life, and it kills the passion
of saving someone’s life”. Statements
like these are aimed at the government in an attempt for the them to understand
how patient care is being affected. One
of the most taxing government regulations is HIPAA, which you can read more
about here: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.html
Doctor
Ryan McGarry wrote and created this film with the purpose to inform viewers of
the inside struggles of emergency departments, specifically county hospitals,
and to inspire change in doctors and hospitals in the United States. According to the film, county hospitals make
up 2% of all U.S. hospitals, but provide 20% of uncompensated care. In addition, county hospitals train
approximately 1 in 5 doctors. This film sheds light on the underfunding and
lack of resources in country hospitals in order to spark change and bring forth
awareness., After filming had wrapped, Los Angeles county allocated more money
toward the hospital in order to hire 25 new nurses. Indeed, change is beginning to happen.
Code Black gives a pretty narrow perspective
regarding the ins and outs of LA County emergency department, and healthcare
overall. We primarily see through the lens
of the ED resident doctors, such as writer and director McGarry who stars in
this film himself, alongside his team of resident doctors. It makes sense that we would hear about the
nitty gritty from those who are doing the nitty gritty. We also hear from attending
physicians at LA County and patients, who testify their similar frustrations regarding
the “system”. This is what leads me to believe
that this film is attempting to reach the government.
Overall,
I was extremely impressed with Code Black
and highly recommend this film for those whom it interests. I would give this film 4 nachos. As a prospective
nurse, I felt that this documentary gave me good insight into the healthcare world
from the perspective of healthcare providers themselves. I appreciate that the voices of those who are
saving lives are being heard.
Watch the movie trailer here:
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