Lenox Hill - General Discussion

[PRgal]

Who is currently binging on this?  I started watching on Friday, but I haven't been able to watch more than 2 1/2 episodes a day, so I still have a couple left.   

[Sarahsmile416]

I am.  Just reached episode 8- it’s taking me a shockingly long time to get through it.   I really like it though.  Especially the neurology docs... they show these cases in such a way that you get attached to these patients.   I like the pregnant OB/GYN although I keep thinking there is something off about her husband.  I found it really interesting that her baby has Noonan’s Syndrome since my friend’s daughter has it.  I kind of hoped that they would talk more about it though. 

[PRgal]

13 hours ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

I am.  Just reached episode 8- it’s taking me a shockingly long time to get through it.   I really like it though.  Especially the neurology docs... they show these cases in such a way that you get attached to these patients.   I like the pregnant OB/GYN although I keep thinking there is something off about her husband.  I found it really interesting that her baby has Noonan’s Syndrome since my friend’s daughter has it.  I kind of hoped that they would talk more about it though. 

Do you think Amanda’s husband is a bit resentful/jealous of her success?  Or maybe he’s just he awkward type....

[Sarahsmile416]

11 hours ago, PRgal said:

Do you think Amanda’s husband is a bit resentful/jealous of her success?  Or maybe he’s just he awkward type....

He seems awkward...really awkward.  During the scenes when they are alone together he acts much less awkward.   During any scene when they are at the hospital with her coworkers he acts very odd...like the clapping during the ultrasound scene.  A few times I was wondering if he might be on the spectrum to be honest 

[xtwheeler]

I just finished this. I thought it was really interesting. There's such a stereotype about surgeons that they're cold, all they want to do is cut, patients are just opportunities to cut to them, not people, and I'm really happy this showed how much they truly cared for their patients. I'm sure there are extremes on either side of the spectrum, but it was nice to see truly caring surgeons.  For all the doctors, I really admired their commitment to being forthright with their patients and showing them the respect of not sugar coating devastating prognoses. 

[meep.meep]

On 6/16/2020 at 6:36 AM, PRgal said:

Do you think Amanda’s husband is a bit resentful/jealous of her success?  Or maybe he’s just he awkward type....

I'm only 4 episodes in, but I don't think that at all.  He moved from California to NY to support her during her residency.  He's flying back and forth across the country to keep running his business.  He's probably just jet lagged.  During her ultrasound, she says how grateful she is that he can ask the practical questions and that he has totally researched Noonan's syndrome.  Anyone who isn't a professional actor can come across awkwardly on camera.

My mother died of jaw and tongue cancer so this hits close to home.  Especially the doctor who is worried about his face being disfigured if they operate.

[nlkm9]

I am LOVING this. this group of drs are amazing, and I have totally new respect for these neurosurgeons. I loved the African American Ob (forget her name ) who was such a great coach in labor. really amazing show.

[AZChristian]

We binged it over the past week.

Wow.  Just.  Wow.  Loved it all.

[auntiemel]

I'm only on episode 6, but I'm obsessed. I'll likely finish the last 3 today! 🙂

 

[Mama No Life]

I am loving it as well.  Some things surprised me....like the ER doc not knowing that the bottom number is more important with blood pressure.  I find myself getting really involved with them all, but David the neurologist is my fav.  He is just so kind.  

[PRgal]

New episode alert!  Netflix just dropped a special episode on how the hospital has handled Covid! 

[auntiemel]

I just watched the COVID special. Wow. It was powerful.

[AZChristian]

Unbelievable bravery on the part of those who face this virus every day.  And sacrificing time with their families to keep THEM safe.

 

[Mama No Life]

It was very, very powerful.  Probably more so because we feel like we know those drs featured.

[kieyra]

On 6/24/2020 at 4:39 PM, PRgal said:

New episode alert!  Netflix just dropped a special episode on how the hospital has handled Covid! 

Thanks for the heads up on this one. I’m just starting this episode and it’s like watching the first bit of Chernobyl. 

[CherryMalotte]

It's an extraordinary series - it hit me like The Keepers did a couple of years ago.   Beautiful and painful at the same time. 

You can't pay doctors and nurses enough during this time.  

   

[irisheyes]

Binged this over the last few days. Loved the first 8 episodes, but the last episode. Wow. When they showed the first shot with the date - March 9th, there’s just an overwhelming feeling of dread because I know what’s about to happen, yet the doctors on my screen don’t. 

[h8omb]

I binged this over the last couple of days and loved it! So many people have the perception of doctors that they are arrogant, dismissive, and don't really listen to patients but I know and have worked with physicians who are incredible people and don't fit that stereotype at all. I really liked all of the doctors profiled here, but I think Amanda was my favourite. I felt like her personality hit the right balance of confident and gentle to put an anxious birthing woman at ease.

[lu1535]

What has got me thinking is, that during the regular show, there was so much attention and care given with the terminal patients and then when Covid hit they had to make that "call" over and over again. It just kind of rattled my brain how life can change so quickly and unpredictably.

[fountain]

I have been watching this show over the weekend. They do a nice job of having the three different departments so it isn’t all terminal illness. During the show you sometimes think that some of the very terminal people have a real long-term chance but then you realize that they are spending their lives in chronic substantial and invasive medical care. It was heart breaking how many times they had to break Chris’ wife’s heart. I hope she is getting some therapy, caregiver to a spouse with a terminal illness, going to appointments, getting your hopes up while living so much of your life at hospitals is so tough. I felt really bad for her in some of the scenes where she had to manage Chris’ behaviour, I have been that spouse, apologizing for your spouse’s behaviour on steroids and just wishing the hospital the staff would take over the responsibility and you could get a break. Now my husband is much better as he had an organ transplant but there were hard years.

Edited August 2, 2020 by fountain

[scrb]

Only just started, watching the first 3.

The cases are very moving.  What struck me was that Amanda was getting her ultrasound, seeing her fetus for the first time.  She and her husband Kevin were both smiling and then it turned instantly as they saw the problem with the fetus.  She was almost frowning and he seemed confused.

Then the Hispanic ER doctor, who had to deliver by Caesarian.  Holy cow, she's awake for it, though they shield her from seeing what's happening below.  You figure if anyone could overcome any squeamishness, it would be a doctor.  But they open up her belly and the doctor reaches in and pulls out the baby!

I thought the scene of the doctors trying to cheer up the spine specialist on the neck cancer diagnosis was moving.  Earlier in this episode, the main neurology guy was having a dispute with this spine doctor about bringing over another spine specialist to the team.

The older woman who had cancer under her skull seemed ready to give up, said she would just take a pill and her husband might as well if he decided he would miss her too much.  Like she didn't want to go through chemo again.

The case of the Tennessee cop just raised more questions.  Does her insurance allow them to see doctors in NYC?  Because that's probably not the case for most Americans.  It would also cost a fortune for the family to stay nearby, never mind the hospital bed they're taking up.

Then you see the scenes at the ER where they're caring for patients who are essentially homeless.  It's unlikely the hospital is treating people pro bono.  They are a part of a larger provider network, Northwell.  I guess the people in ER will have some big bills looming over them but I wonder how the TN couple are going to manage it.

The other interesting part about their case is that Dr. Langer enumerated the reasons why he is treating her, the fact that she has all this family depending on her.  Did he have to agree to treat her but did that decision mean they may have negotiated a good rate with her insurer?

Because the reality is that people with insurance are discouraged from going to certain providers or certain policies with flatly not cover out-of-network providers.

Dr. Bockvar is treating a couple of patients as part of the clinical trial.  Again, it's not clear if patients with little hope are accepted into the trial at the discretion of the doctor in charge or if some FDA process determines who is eligible for these experimental treatments.

BTW, there's a Peter Bockvar who's a financial guy who appears on CNBC all the time.  The resemblance is unmistakeable that they're probably brothers or closely related.  But Dr. Bockvar certainly gave an engaging  account of his experience with his father and how be came to choose his specialty and areas of interest.  

At the end of the first episode, they kind of showed how the doctors left the cocoon of the hospital and went out into the hubbub of the city, all taking the subways like millions of others from all walks of life.  One of the doctors had looked out into the Manhattan skyline and remarked how still the city looked from inside.

I'm looking forward to the pandemic episode to see how tied they come to feel to the city, in contrast to this first episode.

They note the origins of the hospital as a community hospital, in the upper east side, which is one of the wealthiest places in the world.  Of course the ER facility is downtown.  But they obviously take patients from all over the country, maybe the world.

When the pandemic hit NYC, most of the cases and deaths were to people of color, living in often crowded conditions in Queens.  Maybe they get some of those patients from other boroughs.

[circumvent]

I started watching the first episode out of curiosity and really got hooked on it, binged in one weekend.

It is compelling for sure but yes, there is not a lot of explanation about how things are paid for. I needed an MRA to rule out aneurism in my brain due to family history and headaches, the insurance denied, initially. The system in this country is a mess, and as compelling the stories are, as dedicated the doctors are, it felt a little bit too rosy - not the process of the surgeries and treatments, but the way people/we get to have the care they/we need.

One other thing that is missing is the amount of medical errors it happens and how many people die due to those errors. Medical malpractice is the third leading case of deaths in the US, behind heart disease and cancer. But I guess it is not appealing to tell the whole truth.

[circumvent]

In case anyone is still following this topic: there is a new documentary on Hulu about Covid that involves the same healthcare organization that runs Lenox Hill, and it was filmed by the same crew/director. It is heart wrenching but very worthy the watch. The First Wave

[Bastet]

I never knew this existed, but I recently devoured the new documentary series Emergency: NYC from the same producers so it came up as a recommendation.  I'm three episodes in and enjoying it.  I think the new one is a better series overall (I like that it includes EMTs, life flight, and nurses as well), but this is good.  The ER doc who's in this was my favorite of those featured in the new series, so it's nice to get more of her, even though I'm going back in time.  It's quite a trip watching them all pre-COVID.

I laughed at the beginning, when the chairperson said Lenox Hill used to be an old lady hospital, as my primary association with it prior to the series was "the hospital where Myrna Loy spent her final months".

[RoxiP]

I watched Emergency NYC first and then went back and am watching Lennox Hill (and yes, I see that I am several years late).  I didn't like Dr. Bookvar initially but he kind of grows on you.  

I did like the EMTs and the nurses featured on Emergency NYC - and did they specifically pick pregnant people or did that just happen?

[DanielleBowden]

On 4/5/2023 at 1:16 PM, RoxiP said:

I watched Emergency NYC first and then went back and am watching Lennox Hill (and yes, I see that I am several years late).  I didn't like Dr. Bookvar initially but he kind of grows on you.  

I did like the EMTs and the nurses featured on Emergency NYC - and did they specifically pick pregnant people or did that just happen?

This is exactly how I found the series and I’m hooked. I’m not even sure what episode I’m on, but Dr Mitch decided on Houston for his treatment. I’m so invested in his story and wanted to hug him when he said he told his kids to come bc he’s lonely and scared. I hope he’s going to be okay and I hope to get through the series tonight.

[RoxiP]

I finished Lenox Hill yesterday with the Covid episode.  So sobering - the scenes of the almost empty New York streets as opposed to the show before with the Pride Parade and all the people partying in the streets - it was such a strange time in all our lives and the most heartbreaking to me was the emergency room doctor who had to send her husband and baby away so that they could be safe.  Those people deserved a medal for working through the pandemic.