Code Black

Director: Ryan McGarry

Winner of numerous Best Documentary prizes in 2013, Code Black is a powerful, sobering and disquieting film about young doctors and doctor-hopefuls serving on the staff of The L.A. County Hospital. From them we learn much about the past and present state of healthcare in America and how its prohibitive cost is denying the poor and uninsured proper medical attention. But the film is much more than that.

We learn from L.A. County doctors and staff how the old hospital was once the location of one of the busiest emergency units in the country. Nicknamed C-Booth, the room was once a intense hive of activity, with throngs of medical technicians, nurses and doctors all congregated in what resembled a chaotic scrum. According to one doctor, it would only appear that way to someone unfamiliar with the procedures and roles of those involved. We also learn that the unit was once a place where more people died and more people were saved than anywhere else in the country. C-Booth attains a kind of legendary status among those who served and were served in the unit.

Because the old L.A. County Hospital wasn't up to earthquake code, a new building was erected next door, which meant the end of C-Booth and the beginning of a dramatic change not only in environment, but in how medical service was administered. Larger than its predecessor, the new hospital offers more modern facilities but the young doctors and doctor hopefuls learn that much was lost in migration.

The hospital uses a color coding system to discern the number of patients awaiting care. Black (hence the title) is a designation meaning a waiting room filled to capacity. It's sad and tragic to learn that because so many of the poor and uninsured come to the County Hospital for care, the waiting area can become a welter of sick and those who need immediate attention; sometimes waiting as long as 18 hours to be seen.

The young doctors express their frustration with the system and the heavy politicized nature of healthcare in America. We meet the doctors, learn their histories and how they came to medicine--some having once been patients with life-threatening issues--but what is of paramount concern to them is their indefatigable compassion. One doctor remembers watching as a friend with severe brain trauma was given less-than-optimal care, which inspired him to study medicine. In another scene, we see the young doctors gathered around a restaurant table, discussing the impact of reality upon their ideals. It is ispiring to hear them address the nightmarish problem of treating so many--often with little staff and funding--with care and love; the pursuit of hefty salaries of no concern.

Politics and economic constraints are lamented. A chart of the US and the number of county hospitals in the country willing to serve the needy is so appallingly small as to be alarming. One doctor says that because medical care is geared toward the bottom-line, the poor and needy are seen as not being profitable. It is probably not-surprising that so many of those seen waiting are minorities. But as we see later; a caucasian woman in her 50s', left homeless and penniless when her law practice was embezzled, is forced to seek care as one of the needy. It is a heart-wrenching scene; one meant to draw a slender thread between the financially able and the poor. The fact that so many of us are only a hairsbreadth from such a condition is very worrisome.

In a more optimistic turn, the young doctor's analyze the success of the former C-Booth, citing the intimacy of the room and the visibility of the patient as keys to better treatment. They undertake to simulate the old unit and in doing so, dramatically reduce the waiting time of the patients. The hospital also manages to replenish its dwindling nursing staff and re-open wings formerly closed because of economic hardship.

McGarry skillfully weaves the personal with the socio-political effectively; shedding light on a system in need of dire care and repair. The viewer is well-aware that the beseiged doctors face many ferocious adversaries with ever diminishing resources. Though the statistics offer little optimism, the County staffs across the country seem to be valiantly waging a war against the commodification of healthcare, hoping to reinstate humane, compassionate--and passionate--care for the politically and economically marginalized. Code Black is forceful, touching, unsentimental, a kind of call to arms and ultimately a wrenching experience.