''Code Black'' is a documentary directed by Ryan McGarry in 2013 that follows the lives of young physicians in the

Los Angeles General Medical Center Los Angeles General Medical Center (also known as LA General and formerly known as Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, County/USC, County General or by the abbreviation LAC+USC) is a 600-bed public teaching hospital located at 2051 Marengo St ...

Emergency department. These young residents stand up for medicine in a broken

healthcare system A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

. This film enters one of America's busiest emergency rooms where new challenges arise as the young residents try to live up to the previous doctors in the legendary C-booth. The film was adapted by

Michael Seitzman Michael Seitzman (born November 1, 1977) is an American writer, producer and film director best known for film ''North Country (film), North Country''. He launched his production company Maniac Productions in 2017. He most recently signed a TV d ...

into the CBS medical drama '' Code Black'' (2015–2018).

Synopsis

This documentary is inspired by the lives of young physicians during their

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

with at "C-booth" in the Los Angeles County Hospital trauma bay. The film begins in a chaotic, small room swarming with doctors, nurses and severely injured patients called C-booth. During the film the young physicians talk about their experience in C-booth and why they decided to become doctors. After the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake affected Greater Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1994, at 04:30:55 PST. The epicenter of the moment 6.7 () blind thrust earthquake was beneath the San Fernando Valley. Lasting approximately 8 seconds ...

, the hospital underwent new safety regulations and construction began on a new building. As the young doctors enter their last year of residency they faced challenges with the new regulations within the new center. These challenges included a large amount of patients and insurance paperwork, brought upon a congested ER. Patients would wait over fourteen hours to be seen by their physicians and drive hours to this hospital seeking care. "Code Black" meant that the emergency room was at its full capacity and a busy day was ahead for the doctors. This medical center adopted an ER classification system between 1 and 4 to help distinguish between patients that require immediate attention to a simple cold. For example a 4 could mean a cold or broken finger, 3 could be the flu, 2 could be

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

and 1 would be a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

or head trauma. In an effort to alleviate patient wait times, the physicians came up with innovative ideas. Their sickest patients would be treated first with paperwork done after, thereby decreasing wait time. With all the obstacles chipping away at them, the young doctors persevered.

C-Booth

Before the

, there was a space within the trauma bay ER called C-booth. This tiny square foot room was buzzing with staff members awaiting severely injured patients. This small room consist of two hospital beds, a small hall separating the computers and equipment from the beds. During the film, this room is remembered for being a place where doctors were able to study medicine and heal their patients. The young doctors in the film appreciated C-booth for the adrenaline rush it caused and good that it did. This motivated them to construct new concepts derived from C-booth to improve the new ER in the new medical center.

Awards

* 2013:

Aspen Filmfest The Aspen Shortsfest is an annual Oscar-qualifying short film festival held in Aspen, Colorado. It is run by Aspen Film, which has also run the feature film festival, Aspen Filmfest, since 1979. History and description Aspen Film was founded b ...

– Audience Favorite Documentary * 2013:

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

– Documentary Feature * 2013:

LA Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

– Best Documentary Feature {{cite news , last1=Sperling , first1=Nicole , title=Los Angeles Film Festival 2013: Film Independent unveils lineup , url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-may-01-la-et-mn-film-independent-announces-lineup-for-2013-los-angeles-film-festival-20130501-story.html , access-date=January 4, 2024 , work=Los Angeles Times , date=May 1, 2013

References

External links

Code Black website
2013 films American documentary films 2010s American films Documentary films about health care Films set in hospitals Films adapted into television shows