A review by leahroth
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

4.0

I knew this book would piss me off. I have to remember while my anger is boiling at the actions of certain individuals that although multiple sides of an argument are presented, this was by no means written from a neutral perspective. As someone who works in health services research, I’m appalled by the lack of disaster preparedness and acccountability taken by Tenet and Memorial; the denial of justice for those whose deaths were ruled homicides by multiple experts by the prosecution, attorney general’s office, and other stakeholders who were playing politics rather than maintaining objectivity and pursuing truth. I’m pissed at the coroner (but understand that his thought processes are speculative evidence). I don’t think clinicians should receive a blanket of immunity as their discretion can be abused - I think alleged crimes should be investigated on a case by case basis. So many ethical dilemmas presented in this book that I appreciate thinking through. But definitely this being an area of research I’m adjacent to, it’s hard not to scream while reading this book.

Well written, engaging, easy to read and understand