Macy Arn

In the introduction of this LA Fest Awarding Winning film, Ryan McGurry, the director of Code Black, warns the audience about the graphics and true meaning of a Code Black ER is at his choice of residency hospital. The LA County Hospital, where McGurry completed his residency, has a huge reputation of being the birthplace of Emergency Medicine.

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With the first scene being a gunshot wound victim going into the famous C-Booth, as seen in the picture above, there is not a minute in this movie that is relaxing. This movie shows the world’s busiest ER in real time. A key section of this ER is known as the C-Booth, is where the most critical care is given with beds and medical professionals packed into a small area. The physicians all work together and prioritize diagnostic assessments to lengthen the lifetime of a patient. However due to an earthquake, the C booth and the hospital was shut down. This led to the building of a new LA County Hospital completely up to date with passing all required codes. Instantly changing the ideal workplace of Ryan McGurry and his colleagues.

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             In the old LA County Hospital, there was a different connection between patients, doctors, and everyone involved. Code Black director, Ryan McGurry states, "If you are an outsider, I see total chaos. But I see unity in that chaos, there is a team here coming together to save someone’s life" (O’Sullivan, 1). As McGurry says, the chaos had unity within the C Booth in the Old LA County Hospital because there is a different mindset within it, drawled in many residents, patients, and viewers to this hospital. As the documentary continued, the building of the new LA County Hospital changes the purpose. The purpose is focused on the ER layout, new codes, and HIPPA. This ultimately caused the residents to believe "When we start all of this, it seemed so simple. We were going to help people, but the doctor, the system is sometimes bigger than you. It becomes this bucket of paperwork of saving someone's life" (Code Black). Unfortunately, because of all the new updates and codes the residents must follow, they do not feel the same connection they felt in the C Booth. This forces residents to look for ways to fix/change the system to improve the flaws.

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            Ryan McGurry and his fellow resident physicians began to question the purpose of the healthcare system and if it is a system at all. The healthcare system is an example of an oxymoron and this documentary proves it. Within this film, every person waiting in line anywhere from 5-20 hours to be seen by a physician has something wrong with them, whether it is acute or critical, however all are coming because something is wrong. McGurry argues that the healthcare system really isn’t a system at all, because he spends more time filling out about 60-page report to prevent him from being sued and to have all the documentation of the treatment. Paperwork is focused on instead of getting to know the patient and treating them as fast as possible. Ultimately, the healthcare system is a sick care non-system.

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            Unfortunately, the new LA County hospital has made paperwork, HIPPA and many other updated standards mandatory with no waivers, unlike the previous ER. His goals and experiences as a physician have been altered due to these standards. This is a common feeling in today’s world. Many doctors feel as if they must fill all this paperwork out, so they do not go to court, resulting in altered care of their patient’s needs. Indie Wire’s Katie Walsh says it best in her review of Code Black, “the [New LA County Hospital] physical changes in the building reflect the structural changes in health care, which are now less concerned with immediate care, and more with covering their own liability. The idealistic young doctors are frustrated that more of their time is spent filling out forms than seeing patients and wait times in the ER are now stretched to 12 hours long or more” (Walsh, 1).

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            The objective of this film is to solve code black in the ER. Code Black means “things are as bad as they can get. It means the "system" that is the county hospital is overwhelmed, as a body is overwhelmed during a heart attack, and may in fact be on the edge of death” (Seitz, 2). The LA County Hospital is the busiest hospital in the world, making it one of the only hospitals to hit code black multiple times a week. The group of young physicians, including Ryan McGurry, made alterations to the New LA County hospital to accommodate the code black situation, which made a similar layout to the Old LA County Hospital. For this reason, code black started to be solved and the wait times are decreased in result. While insured people receive care at this hospital, uninsured dominate the hospitals patient’s pool and this will continue because it is county, state, and federally funded hospital.

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            Code Black is a must see for all future medical professionals. This documentary depicts the hardships of the healthcare system and how it really is not a system at all. Due to insurance, obstacles, and paperwork the healthcare system needs to be changed. By making this change, it will impact many professions and people need to understand the root of the problem before deciding the next route. By watching this movie, future or current medical professionals will discover the true everyday lifestyle in the busiest ER in the country, while discovering what needs to be change in ever hospital. Care for the patients, not the paperwork!

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Works Cited Page

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Code Black: Directed by Ryan McGurry, performances by Ryan McGarry, Jamie Eng, Dave Pomeranz, Billy  Mallon, 2014.

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O’Sullivan, Michael. “‘Code Black’ Movie Review.” The Washington Post, 10 July 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/code-black-movie review/2014/07/10/d6bcd856-05fc-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html (Links to an external site.). Accessed 9 February 2020.

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Seitz, Matt. “Code Black”. Roger E Bert, 25 July 2014, 

 https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/code- black-2014 (Links to an external site.). Accessed 9 February 2020.

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Walsh, Katie. L.A. Film Fest Review: ‘Code Black’ Depicts Life In The ER Of An LA County Hospital With Heartbreak & Hope, edited by Katie Walsh, IndieWire, 20 June 2013, www.indiewire.com/2013/06/l-a-film-fest-review-code-black-depicts-life-in-the-er-of-an-la-county-hospital-with-heartbreak-hope-96779/. Accessed 9 February 2020.

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FIRST DRAFT - February 1, 2020

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After watching the Code Black documentary, I am eager to actually shadow an ER nurse myself. This documentary started out with a group of Med School students going into their fourth year, where they begin looking for a residency and this group went to the LA county hospital. At the LA hospital the ER was the world's largest patient contact zone in the US if not the world. The LA county hospital was packed with patients, doctors, nurses, and so many others solely focused on helping those in need, not all the HIPPA, rules, paperwork, lawsuits, etc. This area that all the young residents are attracted to is called the C Booth, which is a large open area filled with beds invading patients privacy and having patients very close to one another. With patients close together, doctors could be working on patients side by side or beside a patient meeting there family the first time he/she is awake. Due to these close headquarters, it was time for the C booth and the whole hospital to be rebuilt and up to code. This new LA County Hospital is replacing the old C booth and old LA County Hospital that all the new residents were attracted. Now that they are done with 1 year of residency they are able to start the rest of their residency at the new LA County Hospital that is still full of patients needing care, however, now they have to fill out all paperwork and many other tasks before even evaluating and treating a patient. This makes the new residents mad and they made a goal to fix this broken healthcare system within their hospital first.

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SECOND DRAFT - February 9, 2020

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During the introduction of this LA Fest Awarding Winning film, Ryan McGurry, the director, warns the audience about the graphics and true meaning of a Code Black ER is at his choice of residency hospital. The LA County Hospital, where McGurry completes his residency, has a huge reputation of being the birthplace of Emergency Medicine.

With the first seen being a gunshot wound victim going into the famous C-Booth there is not a minute in this movie that is relaxing. This movie shows the real time of the world’ busiest ER waiting room from - the major critical care to acute care for those who are uninsured. The C-Booth is an area in the open ER room where the most critical care is given, with beds being feet apart and packed with medical professionals all giving care to their fighting patients. They all work together and prioritize diagnostic assessments to lengthen the lifetime of a patient, until the earthquake hits. This untimely leads to the building of a new LA County Hospital completely up to date with passing codes, requiring HIPPA, and all other treatment paperwork. Instantly changing the ideal workplace of Ryan McGurry and his colleagues.

​

Ryan McGurry and his fellow resident physicians began to question the purpose of the healthcare system and if it is a system at all. The healthcare system is really a perfect example of an oxymoron and this documentary proves it. Within this movie every person waiting in line anywhere from 5-20 hours to be seen by a physician has something wrong with them, whether it is acute or critical. And McGurry argues that the healthcare system really isn’t a system at all, because he spends more time filling about 60 page report to prevent him from being sued and to have all the documentation of the treatment instead of getting to know the patient and treating them as fast as possible. Ultimately, the healthcare system is a sick care non-system.

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Ryan McGurry had a goal of fixing this broken healthcare system, along with other reasons to become a physician. Due to a personal experience with the hospital, he wanted to help those like doctors helped him. Ryan had lymphoma when he was about 20 years old and started chemo and radiation hours later. The physicians caught his tumor and immediately knew how to remove it and Ryan wanted to do the same. While he had a great experience with his personal hospital and treatment plan, he understands and saw that this is not the case for everyone. He as a resident wants to change this experience and satisfaction of patients. However due to the amount of time it takes to get himself in a physician position he loses the opportunity to be in the C Booth. He looked up to the C Booth as a great place that had the goal of meeting the patients needs no matter their financial stance and prior issues.

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Unfortunately, the new LA County hospital has made paperwork, HIPPAA and many other updated standards mandatory with no waivers. His goals and experiences as a physician have been altered due to these standards. This is a common feeling in today’s world, many doctors feel as if they must fill all this paperwork out, so they do not go to court and alter the care of their patient’s needs due to insurance and/or other personal circumstances. Katie Walsh says it best in her review of Code Black, “he physical changes in the building reflect the structural changes in health care, which are now less concerned with immediate care, and more with covering their own liability. The idealistic young doctors are frustrated that more of their time is spent filling out forms than seeing patients and wait times in the ER are now stretched to 12 hours long (or more)” (Walsh, 1).

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Another major issue this movie is covering is how insurance plays a role in their patient pool. Due to LA County Hospital being a hospital welcoming all patient’s no matter if they have insurance or not their patients are often desperate but must wait hours to receive care. In fact, this medical documentary title relates to the wait time of patients. “Code Black means things are as bad as they can get. It means the "system" that is the county hospital is overwhelmed, as a body is overwhelmed during a heart attack, and may in fact be on the edge of death” (Seitz, 2). The LA County Hospital is the busiest hospital in the world, making it one of the only hospitals to hit code black multiple times a week. The group of young physicians, including Ryan McGurry, made alterations to the New LA County hospital to accommodate the code black situation by making a similar layout to the Old LA County Hospital. For this reason, code black is beginning to be solved and the wait times are decreasing in result. While insured people receive care at this hospital, uninsured dominate the hospitals patient’s pool and this will continue because it is county, state, and federally funded hospital.

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Code Black is a must see for all future medical professionals. This documentary depicts the hardships of the healthcare system and how it really is not a system at all. Due to insurance, obstacles, and paperwork the healthcare system needs to be changed. By making this change, it will impact many professions and people need to understand the root of the problem before deciding the next route. By watching this movie, future or current medical professionals will discover the true everyday lifestyle in the busiest ER in the country, while discovering what needs to be change in ever hospital. Care for the patients, not the paperwork!