Life and Death: The Story of A Hospital

by Ina Yalof

No institution has so captivated and intrigued Americans as the hospital. It is where the miracles of modern medicine meet the mysteries of the human body. It is where life begins-- and often ends. It embodies our hopes and fears, our capacity for heroism and compassion. Now, based on an unforgettable series of first-person narratives, LIFE AND DEATH takes us behind the scenes for an intimate and inspiring look at one of the best hospitals in the country, New York's Columbia-Presbyterian.
We witness the pressure-packed decision-making process of the hospital's elite heart transplant team; spend a morning in the delivery room as twelve new lives enter the world; share the emergency staff's struggle to care for one midsummer night's wounded in New York City. From the ravages of AIDS and cocaine to the rigors of internship to the remarkable redemptive powers of our great healers, LIFE AND DEATH captures the entire range of human experience -- the poignancy, pain, and humor that are all part of a day's work at this extraordinary institution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 15, 1989

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about the life of people working in a large hospital in New York in the 80's. Each chapter is dedicated into a directorate, the opening covering the unit and who it serves and then sub divided into some of the people you may find working there and their story about their role. This is not just the usual story of a doctor or nurse although you will find these but also those people who are the back bone of a hospital, domestics, laundry staff, telephonists, librarians etc.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this one. The personal testimonials from healthcare workers in here, including actual doctors, are candid, powerful, and relevant even today.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is from the 1980s and therefore many of the 'new' advances Yalof's interviews cover are a couple decades old by now, I felt she did a very thorough job of covering so many angles of what goes on behind the walls of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Each chapter is written from the perspective of someone who works in the hospital, covering what their job entails, how they got to be there, where they imagine their future, how they reacted to events such as the murder of a young physician who had just finished his shift or heart transplants or the emerging threat of HIV, pretty much whatever they felt like telling Yalof.
I particularly liked the variety of people interviewed for the book. Many books I read tell the stories of the doctors or the nurses or the patients, and while the latter group wasn't directly interviewed, Yalof more than makes up for it by telling the stories of people whose roles are often overlooked but important in the function of the large hospital. For example, the hospital employs barbers to cut the hair of community members, visitors, and patients who come to their shop. However, the barber interviewed for the book also plays an important role in surgery, as he is most skilled for removing all hair at a surgical site without nicking the skin, or preserving the 'do of a woman who needs brain surgery but doesn't need her whole head shaved. Also interviewed is the baker, who prepares the day's pastries for the cafeterias and patient meals, but has also been called on to make the wedding cake for a seriously ill patient who got married while being treated on one of the floors. Or the gardener whose mission is to keep the flowers on campus looking pretty and appreciates the freedom his bosses allow when it comes to picking out the plants, but also resented a recent work strike which forced him into a job on campus well outside his comfort zone.
Of course, the majority of people interviewed were doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals or students. Special focus was given to the heart transplant program, pediatric units, and the medical school, perhaps because they were areas where much was happening at the time.
One minor detail that Yalof mentioned, without realizing what the future held, was that young doctor Mehmet Oz was particularly helpful in getting Yalof acquainted with the goings on in the hospital's ER. He wasn't mentioned again, nor was he given his own chapter in the book, but if he's the same Dr. Oz who is friends with Oprah, has his own talk show, and was featured heavily when the TV show 'NY Med' aired on TV this summer, filmed in NYC hospitals, including Columbia Presbyterian, I imagine Yalof would have definitely included more about him in this book.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1988, this book goes "behind the scenes" at what was then New York's Columbia-Presbyterian. I knew the hospital by it's outstanding reputation. What I didn't know: at that time Dr. Mehmet Oz was a surgical intern there. He's acknowledged by the author for introducing her to night time in the ER. This book takes you into the chaos of the hospital, and into the lives of individuals-professionals and patients-who "are" the hospital. Some very heartfelt stories. Easy to read--and you want to keep reading.

[Maryellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Columbia Presbyterian was my parents local ER and hospital when they were growing up in Washington Heights in the 1930's . They both have one of the low ID #'s referenced in this wonderful book. So for me it was a great read as this hospital continues to be - in 2015- the #1 treatment choice for my family . I do hope they sell this book in the hospital gift shop! I feel very fortunate to have found my copy in my local book store years ago.

[Hillary roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

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