“We’re telling you that no one should be out here because it’s dangerous, but we’re sending you out there and we’re not giving out any masks.” --- The bus driver, who declined to be named for fear of losing her job, is one of hundreds of thousands of Brooklynites still working essential jobs, even as the borough is hit hard by the coronavirus. Twenty-eight percent of New York City’s essential workers live in Brooklyn — the most in any borough — and the vast majority of them are people of color. In Brooklyn, the number of deaths outpaced those in Queens on Sunday. Brooklyn has more than 2,606 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 865 “probable” COVID-19 deaths, according to NYC data released April 19.

Perhaps we need to ask our patients how they would design their ideal emergency department. Has anyone thought to do that? I know they would like caring, kind, compassionate staff. Staff who are not carrying serious emotional damage with them to work and back every day. It would be good for all of us to get this right. And soon.

Governor Romney has repeatedly promised that on his first day in office he will work to repeal Obamacare. Insurance companies will again be free to deny my family coverage for whatever reasons they see fit. The Ryan budget which Governor Romney plans to enact as president includes enormous cuts to Medicaid. A vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket is a vote to completely destroy the financial security and medical safety of my child and family. If you are planning on voting for him I’m sure that you are doing it for other reasons but these will be the consequences of that decision. You may not like hearing it but it’s the truth. A vote for Romney/Ryan is a vote that will hurt hardworking Americans like me and my family.

"Your Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions"

"Atul Gawande gave the commencement speech at Stanford’s School of Medicine last week. Here is what he told the graduating class." On the need for building interconnected systems of care in medicine, rather than a hodgepodge of specialists not communicating with each other.