TV Show - Hopkins

[jonesz]

Anyone watch this last Thursday? I thought it was really good. Definitely a terrific summer diversion. A "real" reality show..

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jonesz

Anyone watch this last Thursday? I thought it was really good. Definitely a terrific summer diversion. A "real" reality show..

My wife worked at Hopkins for several years. It's not an all-encompassing picture of Hopkins, but it does provide some decent stories. I'm a bit surprised that they chose to profile the doctors that they did instead of the true ground-breaking doctors that they have on staff. They have some doctors that have pioneered treatments that save millions of lives, but I guess that was too boring and didn't pull on the heart strings quite enough.

One thing I did find out through my wife about Hopkins was the surprising number of 'anonymous' visits. It's amazing how many world and national leaders go through Hopkins and sometimes even have major surgery without the public ever finding out. They're known for doing a great job of maintaining a veil of silence that keeps the press and public from ever knowing that treatment occurred.

[jonesz]

I was interested in the doctor's they chose as well. I tell you though, if I need to ever have my head cut open, I'm going to that nuerosurgeon. He got a bit annoying to me, but man does seem extremely competent in the OR. In that case cocky is a good thing. The whole doctor getting a divorce thing was interesting to me as well. I mean, he's been at it for 8 years, which means he only has 1 year left until he's done with his training. You'd think that he and his wife could get through the last year and see what happens then? Especially with the kids involved.

I was also surprised with the level of security that they had to go through when coming to work. My wife works at a hospital here in Columbus and they have absolutely no security other than needing ID badges to get into restricted areas. I know Baltimore has scary areas (hey, I watch The Wire too ;-). Is the area around Hopkins an unsafe area? Is there a safe area for the doctors to live semi-near the hospital?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jonesz

I was also surprised with the level of security that they had to go through when coming to work. My wife works at a hospital here in Columbus and they have absolutely no security other than needing ID badges to get into restricted areas. I know Baltimore has scary areas (hey, I watch The Wire too ;-). Is the area around Hopkins an unsafe area? Is there a safe area for the doctors to live semi-near the hospital?

The area around the hospital campus is a VERY bad area. The workers in the area hardly ever leave the immediate campus area. Most of the buildings are connected by aerial walkways so people don't have to go outside. Parking areas are patrolled by multiple security officers.

The Inner Harbor has a lot of nice condos that are a 10-15 minute drive away. Otherwise, they live in the subarbs or Northern Baltimore.

[King of New York]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

The area around the hospital campus is a VERY bad area. The workers in the area hardly ever leave the immediate campus area. Most of the buildings are connected by aerial walkways so people don't have to go outside. Parking areas are patrolled by multiple security officers.

That's all true--and yet, at the same time, most of the rest of Baltimore is much worse that the area around the hospital, if that can be believed

[cuervo72]

Yeah, the area around the Hospital is not a very nice place, though Hopkins does seem to be buying up surrounding properties, so perhaps there will be a buffer one day.

/walked from metro to 2024 East Monument for five years

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by King of New York

That's all true--and yet, at the same time, most of the rest of Baltimore is much worse that the area around the hospital, if that can be believed

Very true. There was a documentary on HBO last week that centered around a public school in one of the really rough areas of Baltimore. It painted a pretty accurate picture of the situation. The principal at the graduation commented about how many graduatuates had one or no parents or had parents in prison, yet they still managed to graduate. The poverty in Baltimore is on a level all its own. Coming from the Midwest, I wasn't totally prepared for just how bad it is.