Abstract
The Waiting Room is a character-driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients. The film - using a blend of cinema verité and characters' voiceover - offers a raw, intimate, and even uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers each cope with disease, bureaucracy and hard choices.
The ER waiting room serves as the grounding point for the film, capturing in vivid detail what it means for millions of Americans to live without health insurance. We witness the minute-by-minute Sisyphean struggle that plagues public hospitals, where emergency rooms have to field the overwhelming health care needs of the inner city. Young victims of gun violence take their turn alongside artists and small business owners who lack insurance. The film weaves the stories of several patients - as well as the hospital staff charged with caring for them - as they cope with the complexity of the nation's public health care system, while weathering the storm of a national recession.
The Waiting Room lays bare the struggle and determination of both a community and an institution coping with limited resources and no road map for navigating a health care landscape marked by historic economic and political dysfunction. It is a film about one hospital, its multifaceted community, and how our common vulnerability to illness binds us together as humans.
The ER waiting room serves as the grounding point for the film, capturing in vivid detail what it means for millions of Americans to live without health insurance. We witness the minute-by-minute Sisyphean struggle that plagues public hospitals, where emergency rooms have to field the overwhelming health care needs of the inner city. Young victims of gun violence take their turn alongside artists and small business owners who lack insurance. The film weaves the stories of several patients - as well as the hospital staff charged with caring for them - as they cope with the complexity of the nation's public health care system, while weathering the storm of a national recession.
The Waiting Room lays bare the struggle and determination of both a community and an institution coping with limited resources and no road map for navigating a health care landscape marked by historic economic and political dysfunction. It is a film about one hospital, its multifaceted community, and how our common vulnerability to illness binds us together as humans.
Collection
Subject
Emergency Service, Hospital -- California -- Personal Narratives, Health Policy -- California, Medically Uninsured -- California, Quality of Health Care, Social Conditions -- California, Hospitals -- Emergency services, Health care reform -- United States, Medical policy -- United States, Community life -- California -- Oakland, Oakland (Calif.), Oakland (Calif.) -- Social conditions
Contributors
Nicks, Peter (director), Hirsch, William B. (producer), Davis, Linda (producer), Fritch, William Ryan (composer), Lerew, Lawrence (editor), Fifer, Sally Jo (executive producer), Verges, Scott (executive producer), Nicks, Peter (producer), International Film Circuit (producer), Peer Review Films (producer), ITVS (contributor), Open'hood, Inc (producer)
Duration
01:22:22 (HH:MM:SS)
Language:
English
Target or Intended Audience
adult/continuing education, higher education, high school (grades 10-12), college
Copyright Holder
| Name | Bullfrog Films (Firm) |
| Role | distributor |
| Telephone | 800-543-3764 |
| Address | Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149Oley, PA 19547 |
| [email protected] |
Copyright Date
2012-01-01
Rights Declaration:
This video is protected by copyright. You are free to view it but not download or remix it. Please contact the licensing institution for further information about how you may use this video.
Persistent/Share URL
https://54098.surd9.group/show.php?pid=njcore:31837
Basic LTI parameter
pid=njcore:31837
PID
njcore:31837
Metadata