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The First To Say No
It’s all-out war at Parkview Hospital.
The female doctors in the Parkview Hospital emergency department are tired of dealing with thugs and gang members who attack healthcare workers in their community—and they’re going to do something about it.
This inner city Virginia neighborhood is being terrorized by the Plagues, a gang of violent criminals and drug dealers, and the local police are taking payoffs to ignore their criminal activity. After one of the ED doctors, Elita Romanov, is kidnapped and raped, she and her best friend, Dr. Kate Taylor, decide to take definitive action against the Plagues. These unlikely heroines systematically recruit coworkers, friends, and family members who are willing to break the law to restore the rule of law.
The First To Say No is the story of Kate’s quest to make peace with her past and eliminate those who threaten her future—and the future of her hospital. This landmark novel illustrates many of the failings of today’s healthcare system, and chronicles Kate and Elita’s unique prescription for the problem in Parkview.
The female doctors in the Parkview Hospital emergency department are tired of dealing with thugs and gang members who attack healthcare workers in their community—and they’re going to do something about it.
This inner city Virginia neighborhood is being terrorized by the Plagues, a gang of violent criminals and drug dealers, and the local police are taking payoffs to ignore their criminal activity. After one of the ED doctors, Elita Romanov, is kidnapped and raped, she and her best friend, Dr. Kate Taylor, decide to take definitive action against the Plagues. These unlikely heroines systematically recruit coworkers, friends, and family members who are willing to break the law to restore the rule of law.
The First To Say No is the story of Kate’s quest to make peace with her past and eliminate those who threaten her future—and the future of her hospital. This landmark novel illustrates many of the failings of today’s healthcare system, and chronicles Kate and Elita’s unique prescription for the problem in Parkview.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2012
4 people want to read
About the author
Charles C. Anderson
5 books4 followersI am a retired 38-year veteran of emergency medicine who served twelve years as a Naval Officer. I have directed one ICU, two trauma centers, three emergency departments, nine EMS agencies, two EMS systems, and one poison control center. I have patented several medical devices, designed three EDs and three urgent care centers, built an 18th century grist mill and covered bridge, and published four novels and one war biography.
I have a blog inspired by one of my books, http://thefirsttosayno.com . This blog explores violence against healthcare workers, who are the victims of 60% of all assaults in the American workplace. I advocate major changes in the way hospitals protect their employees and work with nursing organizations and government agencies.
I have a blog inspired by one of my books, http://thefirsttosayno.com . This blog explores violence against healthcare workers, who are the victims of 60% of all assaults in the American workplace. I advocate major changes in the way hospitals protect their employees and work with nursing organizations and government agencies.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2013
Charles C. Anderson, MD: Physician, Author, Humanitarian - A Wake Up Call
Michael Crichton, Khaled Hosseini, Sherwin Nuland, William Carlos Williams, W. Somerset Maugham, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Anton Chekhov are among the many physicians who gained success in writing novels and poetry outside the medical profession. Now we need to add the name of Charles C. Anderson to that list of fine physicians and equally fine writers as he most current novel THE FIRST TO SAY NO is gathering a solid following. Anderson uses his vast experience as an emergency room physician to inform this fast paced thriller that is one the finest book of the year - for many reasons.
In Anderson's words, he writes about a `little known scandal in American medicine, the rising level of patient violence toward healthcare workers. Were you aware that healthcare workers are twice as likely to be assaulted on the job as police officers? Healthcare assaults account for over 60% of all workplace assaults in America. In this book, emergency department physicians and nurses in an inner-city hospital devise a unique and permanent solution for a local gang that preys on them.'
Not only does Anderson weave a tensely suspenseful thriller here but he also develops characters so well define that they seem like near acquaintances. The opening of the book vividly describes a rape assault on Dr. Elita Romanov by members (yes, plural) of the Plague gang that infects a city in Virginia where Parkview Hospital tends to the illnesses and emergencies of the population, but is plagued by the continuing violence by the Plague gang, by repeated hospitalizations of crack and heroin addicts, severe alcoholics driven to crime, and those wasted bits of humanity that sleep in the park by the hospital when they have passed out due to their substance abuse and physical altercations. She is saved by Dr. Kate Taylor (who lost her father at age nine and then suffered continuous sexual molestation by her stepfather before her mother finally poisoned him with Coumadin). Kate has been the victim of assault and rape by the Plagues and as head of the ED at Parkview finds the strength to fight back to end the constant threat of violence and abuse in her hospital. Finding no support form the corrupt police department or from the hospital administration, she comes to the point where she will decide who gets attention - those in need or those who abuse the system and the healthcare workers.
The story stands alone as a gripping, verismo tale: Anderson uses considerable medical language and procedural descriptions that will appeal to everyone who is connected to medicine, but also gives the non-medical reader a microscopic view of how life support mechanisms function to save near hopeless cases.
There is a lot of anger expressed in this book, epitomized by Kate and her staff, but it is an anger that shouts loudly to the reader for reform in the medical system that misguidedly uses the Hippocratic Oath (`First, do no harm') as a reason for not correcting the abuse of the ED and the safety of healthcare givers. Charles C. Anderson writes brilliantly: we will all await his next novel!
Grady Harp
Michael Crichton, Khaled Hosseini, Sherwin Nuland, William Carlos Williams, W. Somerset Maugham, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Anton Chekhov are among the many physicians who gained success in writing novels and poetry outside the medical profession. Now we need to add the name of Charles C. Anderson to that list of fine physicians and equally fine writers as he most current novel THE FIRST TO SAY NO is gathering a solid following. Anderson uses his vast experience as an emergency room physician to inform this fast paced thriller that is one the finest book of the year - for many reasons.
In Anderson's words, he writes about a `little known scandal in American medicine, the rising level of patient violence toward healthcare workers. Were you aware that healthcare workers are twice as likely to be assaulted on the job as police officers? Healthcare assaults account for over 60% of all workplace assaults in America. In this book, emergency department physicians and nurses in an inner-city hospital devise a unique and permanent solution for a local gang that preys on them.'
Not only does Anderson weave a tensely suspenseful thriller here but he also develops characters so well define that they seem like near acquaintances. The opening of the book vividly describes a rape assault on Dr. Elita Romanov by members (yes, plural) of the Plague gang that infects a city in Virginia where Parkview Hospital tends to the illnesses and emergencies of the population, but is plagued by the continuing violence by the Plague gang, by repeated hospitalizations of crack and heroin addicts, severe alcoholics driven to crime, and those wasted bits of humanity that sleep in the park by the hospital when they have passed out due to their substance abuse and physical altercations. She is saved by Dr. Kate Taylor (who lost her father at age nine and then suffered continuous sexual molestation by her stepfather before her mother finally poisoned him with Coumadin). Kate has been the victim of assault and rape by the Plagues and as head of the ED at Parkview finds the strength to fight back to end the constant threat of violence and abuse in her hospital. Finding no support form the corrupt police department or from the hospital administration, she comes to the point where she will decide who gets attention - those in need or those who abuse the system and the healthcare workers.
The story stands alone as a gripping, verismo tale: Anderson uses considerable medical language and procedural descriptions that will appeal to everyone who is connected to medicine, but also gives the non-medical reader a microscopic view of how life support mechanisms function to save near hopeless cases.
There is a lot of anger expressed in this book, epitomized by Kate and her staff, but it is an anger that shouts loudly to the reader for reform in the medical system that misguidedly uses the Hippocratic Oath (`First, do no harm') as a reason for not correcting the abuse of the ED and the safety of healthcare givers. Charles C. Anderson writes brilliantly: we will all await his next novel!
Grady Harp
May 12, 2012
Description:
Doctors Kate Taylor and Elita Romanov are sick and tired of the constant abuse the community suffers at the hands of a local gang – the Plagues. The vicious gang members not only cost the hospital hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid medical bills, but they are notorious for abducting, terrorizing and raping staff members on and off the property of Parkview Hospital. The local police are paid to look the other way, and hospital management refuses to acknowledge the problem, but the gang's victims are ready to fight back; ready to finally say, “NO!”. Can Kate, Elita and the people they care about find a way to “cleanup” the streets without getting themselves killed? Will risking their own lives and reputations save the place they call home?
Review:
I think I have found my new favorite genre! I am in the medical field, so it should come as no surprise, but until recently I had not found a modern medical thriller that lived up to my expectations. Maybe it is because I define a thriller as 'action-packed', 'suspenseful', 'gritty', 'compelling', and, I daresay, 'thrilling'. I dislike when a book is labeled as as a certain genre and doesn't deliver – especially when the book ends up being sleep-inducing instead of heart-pounding. The First To Say No is one of a string of medical thrillers I have read recently that stands behind its cover blurb. It started quickly and unexpectedly, the problems the characters faced immediately evidenced; I was slightly appalled, but the rough reality immediately caught my attention. Elita's character is introduced in such a way that the reader can't help but wonder about her abstruse past, and Charles C. Anderson does a great job leading to the answers; (no spoilers). The same is true with Kate and Margaret - complex, realistic and well-developed characters that the reader can't help but cheer for. The plot definitely encompasses my definition of thriller, particularly in the levels of action and suspense. I knew what was coming, especially the ending, but I was still excited to read it! The dialogue was also appropriate and believable; I really appreciated the medical terminology. However, I do find it horrifying that there are places in America where violence escalates to the heights discussed in the book. Recommended to adult readers into the medical thriller genre, or those in the mood for some well-deserved vengeance.
Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)
*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Doctors Kate Taylor and Elita Romanov are sick and tired of the constant abuse the community suffers at the hands of a local gang – the Plagues. The vicious gang members not only cost the hospital hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid medical bills, but they are notorious for abducting, terrorizing and raping staff members on and off the property of Parkview Hospital. The local police are paid to look the other way, and hospital management refuses to acknowledge the problem, but the gang's victims are ready to fight back; ready to finally say, “NO!”. Can Kate, Elita and the people they care about find a way to “cleanup” the streets without getting themselves killed? Will risking their own lives and reputations save the place they call home?
Review:
I think I have found my new favorite genre! I am in the medical field, so it should come as no surprise, but until recently I had not found a modern medical thriller that lived up to my expectations. Maybe it is because I define a thriller as 'action-packed', 'suspenseful', 'gritty', 'compelling', and, I daresay, 'thrilling'. I dislike when a book is labeled as as a certain genre and doesn't deliver – especially when the book ends up being sleep-inducing instead of heart-pounding. The First To Say No is one of a string of medical thrillers I have read recently that stands behind its cover blurb. It started quickly and unexpectedly, the problems the characters faced immediately evidenced; I was slightly appalled, but the rough reality immediately caught my attention. Elita's character is introduced in such a way that the reader can't help but wonder about her abstruse past, and Charles C. Anderson does a great job leading to the answers; (no spoilers). The same is true with Kate and Margaret - complex, realistic and well-developed characters that the reader can't help but cheer for. The plot definitely encompasses my definition of thriller, particularly in the levels of action and suspense. I knew what was coming, especially the ending, but I was still excited to read it! The dialogue was also appropriate and believable; I really appreciated the medical terminology. However, I do find it horrifying that there are places in America where violence escalates to the heights discussed in the book. Recommended to adult readers into the medical thriller genre, or those in the mood for some well-deserved vengeance.
Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)
*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
March 27, 2016
It is a shocking look into the world of medicine that I never thought existed. After reading the book, I decided to do some research and found out that it is actually more common than you would think!
Back to what I thought of the book. Sexual abuse against nurses and doctors run rampant in Parkview Hospital, and with the police being of no help at all, tension is high while Romanov and Taylor decide what to do against the local gang, the Plagues. The Plagues pretty much run the city- even turning what was once a beautiful park into a place for drug dealers, drug users, and gang members. Citizens are afraid to go near the park for fear that they may end up hurt, or worse.
But once Taylor comes up with a plan, it is a race against time to rid the city of the gang and help the hospital from closing while not getting caught. Will their plan work or will it backfire?
So next time you're at the hospital, you will see everything in a different light. I finished the book about a week or so before Mom ended up in the hospital. I saw things a little differently this time.
Back to what I thought of the book. Sexual abuse against nurses and doctors run rampant in Parkview Hospital, and with the police being of no help at all, tension is high while Romanov and Taylor decide what to do against the local gang, the Plagues. The Plagues pretty much run the city- even turning what was once a beautiful park into a place for drug dealers, drug users, and gang members. Citizens are afraid to go near the park for fear that they may end up hurt, or worse.
But once Taylor comes up with a plan, it is a race against time to rid the city of the gang and help the hospital from closing while not getting caught. Will their plan work or will it backfire?
So next time you're at the hospital, you will see everything in a different light. I finished the book about a week or so before Mom ended up in the hospital. I saw things a little differently this time.
December 27, 2012
"Nobody wants to make any moral judgments. We pay for everything with no one looking at the harm we are doing. No one is willing to admit that we can't afford to pay for everybody's self-destructive behavior. Somebody must prioritize and someone must say no. Our country is already technically bankrupt."
Dr. Katherine (Kate) Taylor will no longer tolerate the violent acts towards her staff by the local gangs, drug addicts and alcoholics that come into her hospital.
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
Dr. Katherine (Kate) Taylor will no longer tolerate the violent acts towards her staff by the local gangs, drug addicts and alcoholics that come into her hospital.
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
February 11, 2014
Shocking, unbelievable, but unfortunately all too true.
Part of me really wanted to believe that this story is 100% fiction, but unfortunately as a healthcare worker, I see the reality of the abuses of the system, the staff, and the resources of the hospital reflected all too well in this book.
I can't say the author is gifted technically, but he still writes an engaging story about dedicated nurses, EMTs, and doctors waging an all-out war to protect themselves and their hospital from local gangs. It's a glimpse into the broken American healthcare system and well worth a read.
Part of me really wanted to believe that this story is 100% fiction, but unfortunately as a healthcare worker, I see the reality of the abuses of the system, the staff, and the resources of the hospital reflected all too well in this book.
I can't say the author is gifted technically, but he still writes an engaging story about dedicated nurses, EMTs, and doctors waging an all-out war to protect themselves and their hospital from local gangs. It's a glimpse into the broken American healthcare system and well worth a read.
June 4, 2013
Dr. Kate Taylor is tired of the violence the Plagues gangs and the victims that end up in the Parkview Hospital emergency room where she works. It is costing the hospital millions of dollars for unpaid bills and now one of their own is murdered while the crooked cops look the other way.
It comes down to who is faster and what is really at stake.
It comes down to who is faster and what is really at stake.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews