County by David Ansell
Cook County Hospital--setting for the long-running TV show ER--was built in 1914 and was the site of America's first blood bank and trauma unit. However, as author Dr. David Ansell notes in County: Life, Death & Politics in Chicago's Public Hospital, "Patients were a secondary consideration from the start."
Until it was replaced by a newer facility in 2002, County was known for its long waiting times, understaffing, crumbling infrastructure--and long, open wards, which offered hospitalized patients no privacy at all. In County, Ansell recounts his years as an intern, resident, and staff physician at County and how he and the other staff tried for years to improve conditions for patients.
Many of the patients' stories are heartbreaking. And you come away thankful if you never had to be a patient at County. But I do wish Ansell had spent less time beating the reader over the head with the need for a single-payer health insurance system. He effectively made his point early on and didn't need to keep belaboring it. Still, it is a compelling and thought-provoking read.
Until it was replaced by a newer facility in 2002, County was known for its long waiting times, understaffing, crumbling infrastructure--and long, open wards, which offered hospitalized patients no privacy at all. In County, Ansell recounts his years as an intern, resident, and staff physician at County and how he and the other staff tried for years to improve conditions for patients.
Many of the patients' stories are heartbreaking. And you come away thankful if you never had to be a patient at County. But I do wish Ansell had spent less time beating the reader over the head with the need for a single-payer health insurance system. He effectively made his point early on and didn't need to keep belaboring it. Still, it is a compelling and thought-provoking read.
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