Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital (The Inspiration for the NBC Drama New Amsterdam)

I like medical stories in general as well as learning more about different physical and mental illnesses. Add to that the knowledge that Bellevue Hospital is well known -- certainly throughout the U.S. if not the entire world, this book of true stories is a sure attention grabber if you're of similar mindset. It certainly adds to my interest that it's set in the great New York City because I have often wondered what it might be like to live there. However I never quite worked up the courage! I am older now so that dream seems to be just that! The author, Dr Eric Manheimer of course does his due diligence to protect his patients confidentiality and it covers the emergencies and crises that send a person rushing (or being rushed by ambulance) to the E.R on what starts out as an ordinary day -- or the close of one. There are trauma victims such as stabbings, gunshot wounds or car accidents, as well as chronic diseases or conditions such as HIV/AIDS, TB, obesity, diabetes, drug seekers and dealers; all part of the harsh reality for these medical professionals in a big city. Additionally, the hospital has a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) and even a court room on the property which I didn't know. So there are patients seen there with major depression, schizophrenia and basically all mental illnesses. Very interesting and comprehensive read. Easy to understand and well edited.

In Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital (Grand Central Publishing/The Hatchette Group, 2013, 349 Pages, $9.99 Kindle edition) Dr. Eric Manheimer tells a story about the American health care system set in Bellevue Hospital, which is the oldest and largest hospital in the United States. As a public hospital it serves the needs of those populations not well-served by the huge infrastructure of America's hospital and larger medical industries. Through its vast doors come the immigrant and minority people who, for hundreds of years, have gathered in New York City for its challenging environment of work, wealth, and freedom, as well as providing a home for all who come. Riker's Island, the largest prison complex in the country provides a vast prison facility for those who comit crimes or are waiting trial for offenses ranging from simple drug arrests to the most horrendous of violent acts. The serial killer known as Son of Sam was imprisoned there for several years awaiting trial. The relationship between these two institutions and the communities surrounding them provides the context for this enormously engaging and challenging exploration of the American health care system at the nexus where it is most challenged. Using twelve patients, including himself, as examples, Manheimer explores the nooks and crannies of an over-challenged system to provide care for those most in need. In what amounts to a series of harrowing and inspiring case studies, he portrays the capacity of this system to meet the physical and emotional needs of those most in need of its powers. Skillfully using dialogue with his patients, colleagues, and family to explicate the stories he has to tell, Manheimer avoids the trap of jargon and stilted description bringing the cases to life through his own humanity and turning what might be cardboard stereotypes into people the reader cares about caught in situations that become real and compelling. Beneath each story lies the reality of grindingly difficult living conditions experienced by many who have suffered to get to the United States only to find themselves confronted by many of the same criminal elements they encountered at home, a system fragmenting to a halt under its own weight, and a country deeply divided about what to do with both criminals and immigrants. Early in the book, Manheimer comments, “PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) was made an official disease in 1980. That is 2700 years after Homer described the effects of war on warriors in his majestic Iliad.” Read the remainder of this review on my blog. If you decide to purchase it, please use the Amazon portal you find there or go to your local independent bookstore.

Being a huge fan of the TV series New Amsterdam, I purchased its source material, Eric Manheimer’s Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital. The book arrived, and I put it in my “to read” stack. It languished there for quite some time as my perception was it would be a clinical treatise that would be hard to wade through. But I eventually began reading, and I was quite surprised. Manheimer, a doctor who had been head of Bellevue for a time, chose twelve diverse patients, himself among them, to tell us readers about the American medical system and the largest of hospitals in that system. His patients are a diverse lot, economically and culturally. Dr. Manheimer is definitely a man of the world, so he is able to reach out to his patients in ways that other doctors may not be able to, conversing with them in Spanish, understanding their backgrounds, and even relating to their music and food choices. As he weaves his tales, we see him get involved personally with these patients, and it is this personal touch that makes the book so fascinating and rich. And to include his own battle with cancer gives us further insight into this remarkable physician. The book reads like a series of interconnected short stories, rather than a series of medical histories as I feared. And anyone who has watched New Amsterdam can certainly see Manheimer in the show’s main character. This is a powerful book.

If you are interested in medical issues (and what thinking adult in today's world is not), you should read Dr. Eric Manheimer's Twelve Patients. This book could be a primer for anyone who wants to be informed about the massive problems involved in health care in the United States. Dr. Manheimer is well qualified to address such issues. He was medical director at Bellevue Hospital in New York for 15 years and also has wide international experience. My perception of Bellevue was the stereotypical one to which the author refers. I thought of it as a gigantic psych ward that also served as a refuge for the poor and destitute. Now I see that the hospital is that, but so much more. The oldest hospital in the U.S., it serves a vast and heterogeneous population. The staff must deal with prisoners and Park Avenue-ites, be prepared to communicate in dozens of languages, cope with particular problems related to varied cultures. Running such a show would be, in euphemistic terms, a challenge. Fortunately, in addition to being a dedicated physician, Dr. Manheimer is also a writer. He drew me into his world immediately, with startling detail and allusions that widen the scope of the book. He uses the stories of the twelve patients he discusses as a springboard to demonstrate the demands placed on our country's healthcare system. In the process he highlights many of our societal problems, from obesity to drug addiction. Each of these twelve people could be the subject of a short novel. Some stories end well; some do not. Even those that end with a cure or favorable resolution leave the reader with a sense of wanting more. What happens to these people when they leave the hospital's safe zone? Though the book is not "preachy," Dr. Manheimer makes it clear how he feels about medical treatment for the poor. He is compassionate and seems to have the ability to empathize with the patient in front of him, whether a homeless drug addict or a vicious criminal. Let me make it clear, however, that I did not sense a hint of self-aggrandizement or self-righteousness. Perhaps Dr. Manheimer is humbled by his own experience with a virulent form of cancer; he is the subject of one of the book's chapters. That experience may have given him new insights, and his years in the crucible of inner city medicine may have forged a resilient, perceptive heart. That being said, I finished the book convinced that this doctor's basic nature was from the beginning well suited for the healing arts.

great book, but an unpleasant amount of quotations that "don't have an end.

Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital served as the basis for the NBC TV series, which ran for five seasons from 2018 to 2022. I try and watch all medically oriented shows and managed to watch the first season. I only watched the first episode of the second season because it ended on a cliffhanger, but I decided that my time could be spent elsewhere. It's not that the series was bad, it’s just that it didn’t keep my interest. The fact that it ran five years means that someone enjoyed it: I just wasn’t my bag. Now, on to the book. The only aspects of the book that were kept in the TV series was the fact that the medical director had cancer of the throat. Otherwise, the book and TV show did not resemble each other. I really enjoyed this book. As the title alludes to, the book is about twelve patients, how Dr. Manheimer interacts with them as he, himself, goes through cancer treatment. As you can guess, I found the book much more interesting that the TV show and would recommend this book to anyone interested in the administrative side of running a hospital along with having to care with patients.

There is always something very fascinating about hospitals in general, specially after one have had the misfortune to be treated at one for a malady that required that level of intervention. I, personally, have been in through the emergency room several times so far, and a few of those times I was admitted, which is another word for saying someone is in trouble, and requires immediate attention. Walking through the corridors, taking on the busy life of medical personnel, even tasting the food that it is offered, is one experience that is very hard to forget. Twelve Patients: Life and Deat at Bellevue Hospital is much more of a good read, that I initially was willing to give it credit for. The excellent author, Mr. Eric Manheimer, takes the reader on a tour, that otherwise would be hard to take. His knowledge, research, case files, and so many things more, gives this book a quality of reading well worth pursuing. Everyone knows that many end up in a hospital as they are knocking on heaven's door, and sometimes when one is roaming around the wings, and takes a look inside the rooms, never fails to be seen a person covered with all manners of medical equipment, and perhaps a visitor(s) that faithfully keeps watch over their loved one. This book has so many angles, but all of them, are as the title suggests, life at Bellevue Hospital, which in a way is quite a legend where hospitals are concerned. Heavy subject, written in a light manner, makes this book one to read and share. 4.5 Stars.

My vocabulary is at least 50% advanced from reading this book! Please note that the superior word usage was not pretentious, but fit the book and the flow of the story. Because of this book I am enlighted further by the challenges facing healthcare, poverty, and patient treatment. In short, the author is very smart and writes very well. Each of the 12 stories were unique, interesting and well told. I enjoyed that the author included his health challenge that made him a better doctor, which enriched the story line. So why did I give it a 4 Star Rating? The ending of some of the stories fell off the page leaving me perplexed. I kept thinking that later on there would be something that knitted it together, but it didn't happen. Perhaps this was purposeful to give you an idea of how patients walk in and out of hospital life and we really don't know what happens until we see them again in future hospital stay. Overall this is very worthy book and I recommend it for learning about patient care and hospitals in an urban environment.