The Hospital
Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town
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3.8 • 21 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
USA Today's 5 BOOKS NOT TO MISS
"Alexander nimbly and grippingly translates the byzantine world of American health care into a real-life narrative with people you come to care about." —New York Times
"Takes readers into the world of the American medical industry in a way no book has done before." —Fortune
"With his signature gut-punching prose, Alexander breaks our hearts as he opens our eyes to America’s deep-rooted sickness and despair by immersing us in the lives of a small town hospital and the people it serves." —Beth Macy, bestselling author of Dopesick
By following the struggle for survival of one small-town hospital, and the patients who walk, or are carried, through its doors, The Hospital takes readers into the world of the American medical industry in a way no book has done before. Americans are dying sooner, and living in poorer health. Alexander argues that no plan will solve America’s health crisis until the deeper causes of that crisis are addressed.
Bryan, Ohio's hospital, is losing money, making it vulnerable to big health systems seeking domination and Phil Ennen, CEO, has been fighting to preserve its independence. Meanwhile, Bryan, a town of 8,500 people in Ohio’s northwest corner, is still trying to recover from the Great Recession. As local leaders struggle to address the town’s problems, and the hospital fights for its life amid a rapidly consolidating medical and hospital industry, a 39-year-old diabetic literally fights for his limbs, and a 55-year-old contractor lies dying in the emergency room. With these and other stories, Alexander strips away the wonkiness of policy to reveal Americans’ struggle for health against a powerful system that’s stacked against them, but yet so fragile it blows apart when the pandemic hits. Culminating with COVID-19, this book offers a blueprint for how we created the crisis we're in.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Alexander (Glass House) delivers an anguished and incisive look at the struggles of an independent community hospital in northwestern Ohio between March 2018 and August 2020. Alternating boardroom politics and financial details with heartrending stories of uninsured and disadvantaged patients, Alexander documents CEO Phil Ennen's desperate efforts to keep Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers of Bryan, Ohio, solvent without lowering standards of care. To offer more services and draw patients from neighboring counties, hospital administrators set out to recruit medical professionals from abroad who would be willing to deal with rural Ohio's cold winters and lack of amenities; meanwhile, CHWC doctors gave patients money for lifesaving prescriptions so they didn't have to wait until payday. Alexander delves into the complicated history of U.S. healthcare and lucidly describes how the Trump administration's anti-immigration and pro-corporation policies impacted both the hospital's ability to attract staff and the economic difficulties faced by locals. The story of diabetic Keith Swihart, who undergoes "two amputations, three eye surgeries, and one colonoscopy," brings home the steep cost of not providing universal health care. Alexander's in-depth research also makes clear why CHWC and hospitals like it have struggled to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. This wrenching account brilliantly diagnoses the flaws in America's healthcare system.
Customer Reviews
Amazing book
An amazing, masterfully written book. A must read for those interested in the story of modern America. Now the question is: Where do we go from here?
Mediocre
A little disjointed. Clearly extremely politically biased. Longer than it needed to be. Some worthwhile thought provoking topics though and interesting (although disjointed) discussion about how a hospital is run.