By Gregory Crofton
Providing quality healthcare without bankrupting its recipient should be common place for any decent society, and it should be our practice in the United States. But it’s not. We’re very far away from that standard.
Medical professionals clean up emergency room blood and work diligently to staunch its constant flow with tourniquets and bandages, medical products purchased at inflated costs that leave money in the pockets of our richest citizens.
“THE WAITING ROOM,” a documentary that captures one day in the Emergency Room of Oakland’s Highland Hospital, shines a spotlight on the American healthcare system. The doctors and nurses work hard doing the very best that they can given their resources. But that’s really immaterial. They can’t keep up. Our over-priced, under-serving healthcare system has become a massive problem, miring millions with enormous debt and crippling the U.S. economy.
“THE WAITING ROOM” shows us what some of the problems are and in turn what it might take to fix them. But what the film doesn’t do is provide any surprises, not any at all. It feels more like a television news documentary than a feature film. And this is a TV doc you’ve seen before.
Still director Peter Nicks and his team deserve praise for documenting the disgraceful reality created by our healthcare system. In my mind, a better film might have included stories that show the excellent healthcare that members of the U.S. Congress receive.
To buy the film, or learn more about it, visit “THE WAITING ROOM” website here.