New Amsterdam (2018) s02e13 Episode Script
In the Graveyard
1 [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[SOFT GROANING.]
She's rejecting her heart transplant.
So University stuffed her in a limo - Drove across town - And dropped her - at our doorstep.
- Just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? Ms.
Harris? I'm Max Goodwin, the Medical Director.
Did your doctors tell you why they were transferring you to New Amsterdam? They said you'd be better equipped to handle my needs.
Is something wrong? Uh, they lied to you.
Your body is rejecting your new heart.
And once they realized there was nothing more they could do, they transferred you here.
Why would they do that? To keep their mortality rates low.
So they sent me here to die? Karen Brantley, can I borrow you for a second? Ah, Max, so glad you could join us.
- Mm-hmm.
- We said 8:30 sharp.
I would've reminded your assistant, but you still don't have one.
It's on my to-do list.
Ozzie, this is our hospital's very busy Medical Director - Hi.
- Max Goodwin.
Pleasure.
Ozzie Cobb has pledged $5 million - 5.
- Over the next quarter.
- Wow.
- What can I say? - I love to give.
- Thank you.
Would you excuse us? This way just come with me.
- [AHEM.]
- You do realize I'm trying to fund your hospital here.
Yeah, well, University just dumped a patient on our doorstep Days, if not hours, before she's expected to die.
All right? You wanna know why? Because they're cooking their books, all right? She's not gonna die on their watch, she's gonna die on ours, and she is not the only one.
There have been others.
Of course there's been others, Max.
Every hospital dumps patients.
Even New Amsterdam.
Hello! Sorry about that.
Yes, I'm listening, Gladys, obviously.
It's Saleem, he's on the piano.
Just Dad, you're supposed to be listening to me.
You know what? Wait Oh, okay, okay.
No, if he's already 51/50, then no, no can do.
That is a big no no.
- Dad! - Yes, honey, you sound amazing.
Keep going, all right? No, that's what I'm saying.
Saleem, babe, hey! Yeah, let's try a little sotto voce, all right? It is a headache and it's a compliance issue.
- Namaste, Ella-ji.
- Good morning.
I was wondering if you would ever wake up.
Oh.
This is a lot of stuff.
I just I need just cornflakes.
No, no, no boxed cereal.
Not in this house.
Only fresh, healthy food for you and the baby.
Stuffed parathas, a little bit of curd.
A little more.
Yes.
Mmm.
You came home rather late last night.
It was 9:00.
9:07, give or take.
You don't have to wait up for me.
Or if you came home earlier, I wouldn't have to.
[LAUGHS.]
Now, about the dirty dishes.
- I have to go to work.
- Already? - Yeah, sorry.
- Okay.
Ella, wait a minute.
- Don't forget this.
- What's in here? Your lunch.
Freshly made Indian food.
Wait until you try my special samosas.
Thank you.
Namaste, Ella-ji.
Dr.
Duarte.
I didn't expect to hear from you so soon.
How's San Francisco? You'll be finding out soon enough, Floyd.
We'd like to officially offer you the position as new Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yerba Buena Hospital.
That's - Great news, I hope.
- Uh, yeah, I, uh It is.
Uh, but before I say yes, I'd like to square some things up here.
- Can I have a few days? - Sure.
A few days.
We'll talk soon.
- Max! - Did you know that New Amsterdam has dumped over 30 patients into the municipal hospice system in the last six months? - Wow, that's a lot.
- 30 within six months.
That's not just a lot.
It's appalling.
Completely agree.
That's absolutely horrific.
But I'm gonna need you to switch gears for just a minute.
- Yeah, how can I help? - I need you to not approve my brachytherapy device.
How can I not help? - Exactly.
- Why would I do that? Because Castro didn't approve it.
The request never should've gotten up to you.
I seem to remember having very candid conversation about me having your back.
You can have my back, but this just looks like I went over Castro's head.
Is it going to help out patients? - I mean, yes.
- Is it within budget? - Yes - Will it make - our hospital better? - Of course.
But in order to keep the peace between Castro and myself, I can't have you favoring me.
I do favor you.
All right, well, keep that to yourself.
Just tell Castro that I'm favoring our patients.
- Max, no - And if she has a problem with that, just tell her to come talk to me.
Where are you going? Thank you for choosing Bell Gardens Hospice.
- Excuse me, hi.
- Visiting's not for - another 30 minutes.
- No, I'm not visiting.
Oh, okay.
Intake's down the hall.
[DOOR BUZZES.]
I'm not here to drop off either.
I'm actually excuse me Here to pick up.
I I'm sorry, what? Uh, well, I'm sorry because you've gotten some of New Amsterdam's patients by mistake and I'm here to take them back.
W-Which patients? All of them.
New Amsterdam has been failing our patients at the end of their lives.
We care for them right up until their last days and then, when curing them is no longer an option, we pass the buck.
We turn them loose on overburdened systems Hospice, nursing homes, unprepared families.
This is not what End-of-Life care should look like.
So we're gonna change that today.
Welcome excuse me To the New Amsterdam Palliative Care Unit.
In my hallway? Working on that.
Every doctor is gonna get a patient and they'll be with you till the end.
What about our actual patients? Just rely on your residents and your attendings for now.
I want your full attention here today.
But if they're palliative, what medicine are we offering? No medicine.
This is about, uh, care, okay? I want you to talk to them, figure out what they need and make sure they get it.
What about cost? Who is covering this? Are we? I don't know, but I'm gonna figure that out.
This is for you.
Yup.
So we we can do anything? Anything.
Just give them a good death.
All right? [PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
[SOFTLY.]
Peter.
Peter, hi.
Hi.
I'm Dr.
Frome.
I'm, uh, Ignatius, or Iggy.
Dr.
Iggy.
Driggy.
Any combination of that will do.
I'm here to take care of you, okay? I'm Dr.
Kapoor, and I'll be taking care of you today.
I see you have had Scleroderma for several years, but two months ago it started causing organ failure.
Yes.
I'll be dead in a few days.
[COUGHS.]
Dr.
Meredith? Zeke's fine.
I'm Dr.
Sharpe.
What can I do to make you more comfortable? More comfortable? I'm dying.
Adele Eisenbaum? Um, I'm Max and, uh, I'm here to make you comfortable.
I'd lower your expectations.
Okay.
I do have a wonderful idea.
We will give you a living wake.
A wake? To allow your family and relatives to gather and celebrate your life while you're still there to celebrate it with them.
Nope.
"Nope"? I'll have a living wake over my dead body.
My mother has been a patient at University for over a decade.
I was gonna have my baby there.
And they just threw her out, like, like You have to do something.
You have to save her.
No, no, Mrs.
Shipley, I can't do that, all right? No one can do that.
[SCOFFS.]
Late stage leukemia comes with a host of physical ailments that can make the transitioning process challenging.
And where exactly am I transitioning to, would you say? Well, I suppose that depends.
What do you believe in? Numbers.
Oh, so your doctorate is in mathematics? I was a professor for 25 years.
What drew you to math? The certainty.
But this what I'm facing now is incomprehensible.
It's unknowable.
I guess death can't be solved like an equation.
And yet, death is a certainty.
You really wanna help me? Solve that.
[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC.]
I It's okay.
What what is it? I I want to see my father.
Your father? Okay.
- Yeah.
- Okay, I can do that.
I can arrange that.
Is he in the city? Don't know.
Haven't spoken Haven't spoken in 12 years.
Okay.
There's no excuse for what happened, all right? But your mother's here now, and we're gonna do our best to make sure she's comfortable, okay? You need to do more than make sure she's comfortable.
You need to make sure she's better.
Mrs.
Shipley You're just as bad as University.
You're just giving up on her.
What is this place for if you can't save - [LIQUID SPLASHING.]
- [GASPS.]
Whoa, whoa, oh Uh, Bloom, little help here, please.
- Regina? - Her water broke.
Is it too soon? - I'm only 34 weeks.
- No, no, no, it's okay.
You're in a safe window.
This is, uh, your preterm, okay? I'm gonna be fine, Mom.
I was actually hoping I'd get to deliver a baby today.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Am I really going to see my grandchild? Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma.
Guess they were right about the smoking.
They're giving me four to six weeks.
Mmm.
And what did you do before Dying? Worked for the city council in Yonkers.
I'd field all the angry calls.
Your sidewalk's got a crack? Old power lines are drooping into your marigolds? I was the soothing voice - on the other end of the line.
- Max! I need help with a very important donor - You're hired.
- For what? And you flood our halls with patients we've already discharged? Karen, I'm glad you're here.
I'd like you to meet my new executive assistant, Adele Eisenbaum.
Highly, highly skilled and tons of experience.
I'm happy to come aboard.
Great.
Now, come back upstairs with me while I've still got Ozzie on the hook.
You know what, I would love to, but I, um Um, oh, unfortunately, Dr.
Goodwin's schedule is a little crammed.
Uh, he has to get everyone settled before people start dying in the hallways.
I like those nails, by the way.
But as soon as Dr.
Goodwin sorts through this mess you're gonna hear from him.
I like her.
I hope you stick around.
I'm temporary.
We'll see about that.
Now find a better place for these patients.
Yup, working on it, boss.
Maybe with a new coat of paint, hmm? Don't make me quit before I die.
Now, this could work.
Watch out, okay, good, okay, one second okay, we're going.
[LIVELY MUSIC.]
- No.
- Yeah, no.
Mm.
Here we are.
This floor hasn't been used in, uh, years.
Ooh, sorry, watch out for whatever that is.
Uh, I don't even know what's in that room.
Uh, when equipment breaks down or loses its function, it ends up here.
We even started calling it "The Graveyard.
" Oh, my God.
I know.
It's perfect.
Welcome to "The Graveyard.
" We're gonna change the name.
Uh, this will be the home of our new palliative wing.
It's gonna be a place to call your own.
You know, your own Your own rooms.
Your own spaces.
So just check it out and find a, uh, spot that feels right for you, wherever you like.
Wherever calls your name, just So what do you think? I think it looks like a hospital.
Not a ringing endorsement, but We didn't pull our punches at the Yonkers City Council meetings.
All right, well, I'm just looking for a comfortable place for people to Kick the bucket? Yeah.
Nobody here wants to die, Max.
When you know your time left on this big blue ball is short, you look at things a little differently.
I can relate, actually.
Well, then, look around.
We don't want a place to die.
We want a place to live.
And who in the hell wants to live in a hospital? [QUIET MUSIC.]
- Oh, uh, Iggy - Hi.
Hi.
Could we swap patients? Oh, no way, no.
I'm way too invested in my guy.
He's a black-sheep son trying to reconnect with his emotionally unavailable father, which in no way whatsoever reminds me of my own family.
- Why, what's yours? - Mine asked me to solve the meaning of the universe.
- Oof.
Whoa.
- Right? How exactly is one supposed to do that? Well, you know, psilocybin has actually shown some real promise in helping people with existential crisis.
AKA dying.
You want me to give him hallucinogenic mushrooms? Well, if you get "Right to Try" approval, it's perfectly legal.
Unlike, say, heroin.
- Shut up.
- Okay.
And thank you, I will consider it.
- You're welcome.
- Iggy, you must swap patients with me.
What is happening around here? No.
- No tradesies.
- This Debra Keating is an unreasonable woman.
I told her I wanted to give her a beautiful wake.
You know what she said? - No.
- That's right.
"No.
" You know, I wanted to give a living wake for my wife.
But Debra is refusing, and I don't know why.
Well, did you ask her? - No.
- You know, a wise man about your height once told me that listening is a very effective tool in determining why people think the things that they think.
Yes, yes, yes, I know.
One second.
Where did you get this from? Oh, there's a veritable feast right there.
But don't worry, it's not as good as yours.
[PUNCHY PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
Psilocybin is being used in in End-of-Life study protocols - all over the country.
- And I do not feel comfortable clearing it for use in my department.
"Right to Try" laws allow wide latitude in treating terminal patients.
If you just met Zeke I'm not adding any more fuel to this whole "Heroin Den Helen" thing by letting you prescribe "shrooms.
" It's micro-dosing.
and it will be carefully monitored.
It's not gonna happen.
But feel free to go over my head and run to Max, because that is how this works, right? Forgive me, Debra.
You are in charge of how the next few days should go, and I am here just to listen.
Thank you.
Okay, I'm listening, but I'm not hearing anything.
What is there to say? Oh so much.
N-not just for you, but for your friends and relatives.
Oh, sorry, I'm just here to listen.
Sorry.
[BREATHES DEEPLY.]
I haven't seen anyone since things got bad.
I just want to be alone.
I even gave away Beverly.
Beverly? My cocker spaniel.
So why would you wish to do this alone? I don't want to share this with anyone.
I've kept my feelings to myself my whole life.
Why should my death be any different? It would just upset people if they saw me like this.
So you don't want to have a living wake because you're trying to protect other people? Yes.
I understand now, Debra.
I know exactly what you need.
- A living wake.
- What? - No, I don't want it.
- I'm listening to your words, and I'm hearing you loud and clear.
No, I said I don't want Debra, you're going to love it.
a living wake.
Thank you.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
Peter.
Peter, your dad is here to see you.
[SOFT GRUNT.]
[SHAKY BREATHS.]
Hi.
[STIRRING MUSIC.]
I I hate you.
I've always hated you.
- There we go.
- Oh, what happened? Someone had a little slip and fall up on L and D.
I got a little excited.
Thought I could stand at Regina's bedside.
Let me take a look.
Ooh, yeah, that's a real humdinger.
Probably best if I put in a couple stitches.
- I'm fine.
- Well, just to be safe.
I wanna get back upstairs.
I don't wanna miss my grandbaby.
It's only gonna take a minute.
Dr.
Bloom, I'm at a time in my life where every minute matters.
Okay, look, at least let me thrown on some bandages for the road, okay? I always dreamt of being a grandmother [LAUGHS, COUGHS.]
Spoiling my grandkids with love.
I really thought I would have more time.
Marianne? - M-Marianne? - W-Whoa, okay, okay.
Get her legs.
Okay.
- No pulse.
- Cardiac arrest.
Grab the defibrillator.
What are you doing? She's DNR.
- You you cannot be serious.
- Oh, no, no, no.
We gotta let her go.
In two seconds I can have her breathing again.
Lauren, she made her wishes clear.
She wishes to see her grandchild! But that was a minute ago in a conversation.
The legal and binding choice she made was no shocks, no medical intervention.
Look, it's here in her file.
Okay, but if she was awake right now, she would reverse that DNR, and you know it.
- But she's not awake.
- That's because we're arguing instead of trying to resuscitate her! Lauren, if you touch Marianne, you're violating her rights.
You need to let her go in peace.
Here, no, she's DNR.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Lauren! What are you doing? Someone get the crash cart in here now! Stop! I need MP.
Come on, Marianne.
[DEFIBRILLATOR CHARGING.]
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
Enjoy the trip, Doc.
If Dr.
Sharpe thinks this will help, she's worse off than I am.
This stays between us.
- And thank you.
- For what? I wasn't even here.
Oh, you gotta get me back before Burning Man.
Uh, hey, everyone.
Sorry to interrupt.
Um, it was recently brought to my attention that this feels like a hospital.
So I'd like you to meet our new therapists and social workers, all of whom are fully trained in palliative care.
I've also hired some acupuncturists and a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and last but not least, I would like you to meet - Trinket and Cici! - Aww.
Hey, hi there! Uh, these guys are gonna hang out with you and have some fun, so without further ado, I'd like you to welcome the new full-time staff of "The Graveyard.
" And we've really gotta change that name.
I am impressed.
Not bad, right? But like we used to say at the Yonkers City Council, how the hell are we paying for this? I'm working on it.
So how did you like the lunch I prepared for you? It was so good.
I loved it, thank you.
And what was your favorite part? - Mutton samosa? - Yup, yes, definitely.
They were vegetable samosas.
How could you give away the food that I just made for you? It's too much.
Okay, I will pack a smaller lunch.
No, that's not what I meant.
I mean, I know I asked for help, but you're smothering me.
I was just trying to help you.
I know, and I'm sorry, but I don't need to be helped like that.
You're stressing me out.
This is what family does.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I just if this is gonna work, I just need us to have some boundaries.
Boundaries? What kind of boundaries? Just for starters, you can't feed me five courses at every meal.
I know that might be how you do things, but it's not how I want to do them.
I wanna eat what I wanna eat.
Okay.
Well If this is what you feel.
I'll see you at home.
Don't wait up.
Welcome to Pain De Vie.
[KNOCK AT DOOR.]
Oh hey.
Hey.
How are you holding up? Still can't get his words out of my head.
Don't think I ever will.
Yeah.
[SIGHS.]
You know, I, um I've said those words to my father.
I've hated my father.
I've hated him.
But I never stopped loving him.
Ever.
And I care what he thinks about me.
I really do.
Just like how Peter cared what you thought about him.
Okay, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I was never there for him.
He asked for you.
That was his dying wish was to see you.
And yes, it was ugly, and it was rough.
But I promise you, it was not just hate.
Well, doesn't matter now.
It's over.
No, no, no.
But for Peter, it is, yes.
But not for you.
You get to finish the conversation.
[DEBUSSY'S "CLAIR DE LUNE" PLAYING.]
I don't think this is working.
I've heard death described as the introduction of ink into water.
So it's not a vanishing, it's an expansion.
A poetic treatment won't solve a concrete problem.
I relate as a scientist, I do.
But to me, numbers are not concrete at all.
And neither is death.
Make your case, doctor.
What's the highest number? Or the last digit in pi? How many snowflakes are in a blizzard? When it comes to the end of life, maybe we need to leave quantifiable behind and rely instead on experience.
After all, no one can count all the snowflakes in a winter storm.
[MUSIC STOPS.]
Nothing is actually very easy to count.
She's stable.
Heart rate and rhythm normal.
Blood pressure steady.
Mentally intact.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
Are you Are you punishing me? For saving her life? The ends don't justify the means.
Marianne is gonna get to see her grandchild before she dies.
Once you started to resuscitate her, when were you going to stop? At three broken ribs? At a chest tube? What if you had revived Marianne only to learn that she was brain dead? Yeah, well, none of that happened.
Yeah, but our job was to give her a good death.
She had it and you just took it away.
I did what Max would have wanted.
Oh, you're gonna pin it on Max? Not just Max.
You know, Sharpe, Iggy, Kapoor All of them would've done the exact same thing.
- Oh, you don't know that.
- Take a look around, Floyd.
Everyone here bends the rules.
Everyone except you.
So you wanna find someone to shame, someone who doesn't fit in here, you're looking at the wrong person.
Uh, thank you all for coming to Debra's living wake.
If you have things you wish to say to her, feelings you wish her to know, now is the time.
Why why don't you start us off, Debra? Um, tell everyone what you're feeling.
I can't do this.
Yes, you can.
Just open up.
Ladies and gentlemen, Debra Keating.
[GASPS.]
Beverly? [DOG WHINING.]
Come here, girl.
Come here.
All right.
[GASPS.]
Most of you know my Beverly.
What you don't know is that when my health plummeted, she was so worried about me she wouldn't even touch her food.
She became so sad and lethargic.
So she really experienced the illness with me.
So even though it broke my heart, I gave her to my sister, Anna.
My rock since the day I was born.
And Frank, the best brother-in-law.
I love you and your whole family.
Is Ted here? There you are.
Thank you for being here.
And, uh, Jeremy.
I I never thought I'd say this out loud - Debra - But I I have loved you ever since that night at the ferry.
- I didn't know how to say it.
- Stop, stop speaking.
Stop speaking, please.
This wake is over.
Please, thank you, and good-bye.
Please, thank you, bye-bye.
Bye.
- What are you doing? - You you can't have a wake.
[STAMMERS.]
You're not dying, so Tell me you kept the receipts.
Okay, before you say anything else, uh, you should know that, uh, it looks expensive, and that's because it is.
But it's the right thing to do, and it's all paid for.
And how, pray tell, is that even possible? Because of you.
All your hard work with the new donor, Ozzie Cobb.
$5 million donation, wow.
And all I need for this is $1 million.
You, Karen Brantley, are a genius.
Ozzie Cobb hasn't given a dime to this hospital.
- What's that now? - He's a selfish tight-ass who pledges millions every year and never donates a damn thing.
I was hoping to get him on the hook.
But he wriggled out again.
And if you just had shown up, you might've been able to reel him back in, but you didn't.
And now it's too late.
- Okay.
If I'd known that - Save it, Max.
Because you just spent $1 million we don't have.
- Um - Get everyone out of here today.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
I'm not going to die? Nope.
going to be the biggest, You and Beverly both have a bacterial disease called Leptospirosis.
It presents the same in humans and canines.
Uh, you must have gotten it on one of your walks.
- But how did no one - The symptoms were masked by your Scleroderma.
It was well hidden.
Then how did you know? I listened to you.
With antibiotics, both of you will make a full recovery.
Oh.
[CRYING.]
Once you start with the emotions, it's hard to stop, isn't it? [CRYING.]
Oh, my God.
I told all those people how I feel.
Even Jeremy.
I realize now that a living wake may not have been what you needed.
I'm really sorry for forcing you to have one.
Don't you dare be sorry.
My wake It was the best day of my life.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Peter.
You are my baby boy.
I wish I wish I could've shown you how much how much I love you.
But Papa's here now.
I'm here.
And I'm not leaving.
Ozzie, I am so glad I caught you.
You are one slippery fish.
Well, I told chairwoman Bradley I've see everything I needed to see.
Yeah, actually, not everything.
- The floor is yours, Max.
- Okay, great, thank you.
And, uh, thank you all for coming.
Tonight, I have the great pleasure of introducing our new palliative care unit, where our patients will spend their final days being cared for on their own terms.
It's a dream come true for this hospital.
But it almost didn't happen.
Thanks to a very, very charitable last-minute donation, we can now call this one-of-a-kind unit a permanent feature here in New Amsterdam.
So now, when you think of philanthropy, you will forever think of the "Ozzie Cobb Palliative Care Wing.
" Take a look at that! Pretty good, right? Oh thank you! Yes! Look at this guy! I I did n I I know, I couldn't agree more.
I think what you're trying to say in front of everyone gathered here today, our patients oh, look at that the news media, the print, broadcast and streaming outlets Hi there Is thank you.
Now let's get a few photos of him signing the check, shall we? Let's really capture this moment of boundless philanthropy for everyone to see, huh? You're on the hook now.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
- [APPLAUSE.]
Hey, all right! [APPLAUSE.]
- Smile, please.
- Yes! He's the best, isn't he? [SEAFRET'S "GIVE ME SOMETHING" PLAYING.]
What you say Tells me nothing What's the truth? Give me something Take me down a road I believe in Lost the way Lost all reason Ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh Hello, Dr.
Duarte.
The answer is yes.
I'd love to come work for you at Yerba Buena Hospital.
[CELL PHONE RINGS.]
- Trying to save it Before I fall out Show me somehow I can make it [PHONE CHIMES.]
All that we gave Was it wasted? Falling down broke holding one hope That you'll make it Give me something Give me something Give me something To hold on to I've got nothing Hell of a day.
Since I lost you Yeah.
Burden me.
I don't know what Georgia would've wanted.
And we were so busy trying to save our marriage and deal with my cancer I didn't even ask her.
The flowers.
I just feel like I got the flowers wrong.
They were beautiful.
The funeral home, they They sent options, and, you know, I I mean, I just let them choose and then - What if what if - Max, you've got to forgive yourself.
[DEBUSSY'S "CLAIR DE LUNE" PLAYING.]
Maybe I thought if I can prepare everyone else, then I could.
And? [SCOFFS.]
What do you want when the time comes? I You don't have to Well, someone should know.
Um Luna by my side, singing to me.
[SMALL LAUGH.]
Even if I can't hear it.
Just wanna feel that she's there.
I'll tell her.
What about you? How about we just throw a big party and call it a day? What kind of party? Are we talking, uh, piñatas or clowns I was thinking more dancing.
Dancing? Okay, so, like tango or merengue? See, you gotta be specific so I get it right.
Oh, so you're in charge? Someone should be.
[INDISTINCT SPEECH.]
[SWEEPING ORCHESTRATION CONTINUES.]
[SOFT GROANING.]
She's rejecting her heart transplant.
So University stuffed her in a limo - Drove across town - And dropped her - at our doorstep.
- Just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? Ms.
Harris? I'm Max Goodwin, the Medical Director.
Did your doctors tell you why they were transferring you to New Amsterdam? They said you'd be better equipped to handle my needs.
Is something wrong? Uh, they lied to you.
Your body is rejecting your new heart.
And once they realized there was nothing more they could do, they transferred you here.
Why would they do that? To keep their mortality rates low.
So they sent me here to die? Karen Brantley, can I borrow you for a second? Ah, Max, so glad you could join us.
- Mm-hmm.
- We said 8:30 sharp.
I would've reminded your assistant, but you still don't have one.
It's on my to-do list.
Ozzie, this is our hospital's very busy Medical Director - Hi.
- Max Goodwin.
Pleasure.
Ozzie Cobb has pledged $5 million - 5.
- Over the next quarter.
- Wow.
- What can I say? - I love to give.
- Thank you.
Would you excuse us? This way just come with me.
- [AHEM.]
- You do realize I'm trying to fund your hospital here.
Yeah, well, University just dumped a patient on our doorstep Days, if not hours, before she's expected to die.
All right? You wanna know why? Because they're cooking their books, all right? She's not gonna die on their watch, she's gonna die on ours, and she is not the only one.
There have been others.
Of course there's been others, Max.
Every hospital dumps patients.
Even New Amsterdam.
Hello! Sorry about that.
Yes, I'm listening, Gladys, obviously.
It's Saleem, he's on the piano.
Just Dad, you're supposed to be listening to me.
You know what? Wait Oh, okay, okay.
No, if he's already 51/50, then no, no can do.
That is a big no no.
- Dad! - Yes, honey, you sound amazing.
Keep going, all right? No, that's what I'm saying.
Saleem, babe, hey! Yeah, let's try a little sotto voce, all right? It is a headache and it's a compliance issue.
- Namaste, Ella-ji.
- Good morning.
I was wondering if you would ever wake up.
Oh.
This is a lot of stuff.
I just I need just cornflakes.
No, no, no boxed cereal.
Not in this house.
Only fresh, healthy food for you and the baby.
Stuffed parathas, a little bit of curd.
A little more.
Yes.
Mmm.
You came home rather late last night.
It was 9:00.
9:07, give or take.
You don't have to wait up for me.
Or if you came home earlier, I wouldn't have to.
[LAUGHS.]
Now, about the dirty dishes.
- I have to go to work.
- Already? - Yeah, sorry.
- Okay.
Ella, wait a minute.
- Don't forget this.
- What's in here? Your lunch.
Freshly made Indian food.
Wait until you try my special samosas.
Thank you.
Namaste, Ella-ji.
Dr.
Duarte.
I didn't expect to hear from you so soon.
How's San Francisco? You'll be finding out soon enough, Floyd.
We'd like to officially offer you the position as new Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yerba Buena Hospital.
That's - Great news, I hope.
- Uh, yeah, I, uh It is.
Uh, but before I say yes, I'd like to square some things up here.
- Can I have a few days? - Sure.
A few days.
We'll talk soon.
- Max! - Did you know that New Amsterdam has dumped over 30 patients into the municipal hospice system in the last six months? - Wow, that's a lot.
- 30 within six months.
That's not just a lot.
It's appalling.
Completely agree.
That's absolutely horrific.
But I'm gonna need you to switch gears for just a minute.
- Yeah, how can I help? - I need you to not approve my brachytherapy device.
How can I not help? - Exactly.
- Why would I do that? Because Castro didn't approve it.
The request never should've gotten up to you.
I seem to remember having very candid conversation about me having your back.
You can have my back, but this just looks like I went over Castro's head.
Is it going to help out patients? - I mean, yes.
- Is it within budget? - Yes - Will it make - our hospital better? - Of course.
But in order to keep the peace between Castro and myself, I can't have you favoring me.
I do favor you.
All right, well, keep that to yourself.
Just tell Castro that I'm favoring our patients.
- Max, no - And if she has a problem with that, just tell her to come talk to me.
Where are you going? Thank you for choosing Bell Gardens Hospice.
- Excuse me, hi.
- Visiting's not for - another 30 minutes.
- No, I'm not visiting.
Oh, okay.
Intake's down the hall.
[DOOR BUZZES.]
I'm not here to drop off either.
I'm actually excuse me Here to pick up.
I I'm sorry, what? Uh, well, I'm sorry because you've gotten some of New Amsterdam's patients by mistake and I'm here to take them back.
W-Which patients? All of them.
New Amsterdam has been failing our patients at the end of their lives.
We care for them right up until their last days and then, when curing them is no longer an option, we pass the buck.
We turn them loose on overburdened systems Hospice, nursing homes, unprepared families.
This is not what End-of-Life care should look like.
So we're gonna change that today.
Welcome excuse me To the New Amsterdam Palliative Care Unit.
In my hallway? Working on that.
Every doctor is gonna get a patient and they'll be with you till the end.
What about our actual patients? Just rely on your residents and your attendings for now.
I want your full attention here today.
But if they're palliative, what medicine are we offering? No medicine.
This is about, uh, care, okay? I want you to talk to them, figure out what they need and make sure they get it.
What about cost? Who is covering this? Are we? I don't know, but I'm gonna figure that out.
This is for you.
Yup.
So we we can do anything? Anything.
Just give them a good death.
All right? [PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
[SOFTLY.]
Peter.
Peter, hi.
Hi.
I'm Dr.
Frome.
I'm, uh, Ignatius, or Iggy.
Dr.
Iggy.
Driggy.
Any combination of that will do.
I'm here to take care of you, okay? I'm Dr.
Kapoor, and I'll be taking care of you today.
I see you have had Scleroderma for several years, but two months ago it started causing organ failure.
Yes.
I'll be dead in a few days.
[COUGHS.]
Dr.
Meredith? Zeke's fine.
I'm Dr.
Sharpe.
What can I do to make you more comfortable? More comfortable? I'm dying.
Adele Eisenbaum? Um, I'm Max and, uh, I'm here to make you comfortable.
I'd lower your expectations.
Okay.
I do have a wonderful idea.
We will give you a living wake.
A wake? To allow your family and relatives to gather and celebrate your life while you're still there to celebrate it with them.
Nope.
"Nope"? I'll have a living wake over my dead body.
My mother has been a patient at University for over a decade.
I was gonna have my baby there.
And they just threw her out, like, like You have to do something.
You have to save her.
No, no, Mrs.
Shipley, I can't do that, all right? No one can do that.
[SCOFFS.]
Late stage leukemia comes with a host of physical ailments that can make the transitioning process challenging.
And where exactly am I transitioning to, would you say? Well, I suppose that depends.
What do you believe in? Numbers.
Oh, so your doctorate is in mathematics? I was a professor for 25 years.
What drew you to math? The certainty.
But this what I'm facing now is incomprehensible.
It's unknowable.
I guess death can't be solved like an equation.
And yet, death is a certainty.
You really wanna help me? Solve that.
[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC.]
I It's okay.
What what is it? I I want to see my father.
Your father? Okay.
- Yeah.
- Okay, I can do that.
I can arrange that.
Is he in the city? Don't know.
Haven't spoken Haven't spoken in 12 years.
Okay.
There's no excuse for what happened, all right? But your mother's here now, and we're gonna do our best to make sure she's comfortable, okay? You need to do more than make sure she's comfortable.
You need to make sure she's better.
Mrs.
Shipley You're just as bad as University.
You're just giving up on her.
What is this place for if you can't save - [LIQUID SPLASHING.]
- [GASPS.]
Whoa, whoa, oh Uh, Bloom, little help here, please.
- Regina? - Her water broke.
Is it too soon? - I'm only 34 weeks.
- No, no, no, it's okay.
You're in a safe window.
This is, uh, your preterm, okay? I'm gonna be fine, Mom.
I was actually hoping I'd get to deliver a baby today.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Am I really going to see my grandchild? Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma.
Guess they were right about the smoking.
They're giving me four to six weeks.
Mmm.
And what did you do before Dying? Worked for the city council in Yonkers.
I'd field all the angry calls.
Your sidewalk's got a crack? Old power lines are drooping into your marigolds? I was the soothing voice - on the other end of the line.
- Max! I need help with a very important donor - You're hired.
- For what? And you flood our halls with patients we've already discharged? Karen, I'm glad you're here.
I'd like you to meet my new executive assistant, Adele Eisenbaum.
Highly, highly skilled and tons of experience.
I'm happy to come aboard.
Great.
Now, come back upstairs with me while I've still got Ozzie on the hook.
You know what, I would love to, but I, um Um, oh, unfortunately, Dr.
Goodwin's schedule is a little crammed.
Uh, he has to get everyone settled before people start dying in the hallways.
I like those nails, by the way.
But as soon as Dr.
Goodwin sorts through this mess you're gonna hear from him.
I like her.
I hope you stick around.
I'm temporary.
We'll see about that.
Now find a better place for these patients.
Yup, working on it, boss.
Maybe with a new coat of paint, hmm? Don't make me quit before I die.
Now, this could work.
Watch out, okay, good, okay, one second okay, we're going.
[LIVELY MUSIC.]
- No.
- Yeah, no.
Mm.
Here we are.
This floor hasn't been used in, uh, years.
Ooh, sorry, watch out for whatever that is.
Uh, I don't even know what's in that room.
Uh, when equipment breaks down or loses its function, it ends up here.
We even started calling it "The Graveyard.
" Oh, my God.
I know.
It's perfect.
Welcome to "The Graveyard.
" We're gonna change the name.
Uh, this will be the home of our new palliative wing.
It's gonna be a place to call your own.
You know, your own Your own rooms.
Your own spaces.
So just check it out and find a, uh, spot that feels right for you, wherever you like.
Wherever calls your name, just So what do you think? I think it looks like a hospital.
Not a ringing endorsement, but We didn't pull our punches at the Yonkers City Council meetings.
All right, well, I'm just looking for a comfortable place for people to Kick the bucket? Yeah.
Nobody here wants to die, Max.
When you know your time left on this big blue ball is short, you look at things a little differently.
I can relate, actually.
Well, then, look around.
We don't want a place to die.
We want a place to live.
And who in the hell wants to live in a hospital? [QUIET MUSIC.]
- Oh, uh, Iggy - Hi.
Hi.
Could we swap patients? Oh, no way, no.
I'm way too invested in my guy.
He's a black-sheep son trying to reconnect with his emotionally unavailable father, which in no way whatsoever reminds me of my own family.
- Why, what's yours? - Mine asked me to solve the meaning of the universe.
- Oof.
Whoa.
- Right? How exactly is one supposed to do that? Well, you know, psilocybin has actually shown some real promise in helping people with existential crisis.
AKA dying.
You want me to give him hallucinogenic mushrooms? Well, if you get "Right to Try" approval, it's perfectly legal.
Unlike, say, heroin.
- Shut up.
- Okay.
And thank you, I will consider it.
- You're welcome.
- Iggy, you must swap patients with me.
What is happening around here? No.
- No tradesies.
- This Debra Keating is an unreasonable woman.
I told her I wanted to give her a beautiful wake.
You know what she said? - No.
- That's right.
"No.
" You know, I wanted to give a living wake for my wife.
But Debra is refusing, and I don't know why.
Well, did you ask her? - No.
- You know, a wise man about your height once told me that listening is a very effective tool in determining why people think the things that they think.
Yes, yes, yes, I know.
One second.
Where did you get this from? Oh, there's a veritable feast right there.
But don't worry, it's not as good as yours.
[PUNCHY PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
Psilocybin is being used in in End-of-Life study protocols - all over the country.
- And I do not feel comfortable clearing it for use in my department.
"Right to Try" laws allow wide latitude in treating terminal patients.
If you just met Zeke I'm not adding any more fuel to this whole "Heroin Den Helen" thing by letting you prescribe "shrooms.
" It's micro-dosing.
and it will be carefully monitored.
It's not gonna happen.
But feel free to go over my head and run to Max, because that is how this works, right? Forgive me, Debra.
You are in charge of how the next few days should go, and I am here just to listen.
Thank you.
Okay, I'm listening, but I'm not hearing anything.
What is there to say? Oh so much.
N-not just for you, but for your friends and relatives.
Oh, sorry, I'm just here to listen.
Sorry.
[BREATHES DEEPLY.]
I haven't seen anyone since things got bad.
I just want to be alone.
I even gave away Beverly.
Beverly? My cocker spaniel.
So why would you wish to do this alone? I don't want to share this with anyone.
I've kept my feelings to myself my whole life.
Why should my death be any different? It would just upset people if they saw me like this.
So you don't want to have a living wake because you're trying to protect other people? Yes.
I understand now, Debra.
I know exactly what you need.
- A living wake.
- What? - No, I don't want it.
- I'm listening to your words, and I'm hearing you loud and clear.
No, I said I don't want Debra, you're going to love it.
a living wake.
Thank you.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
Peter.
Peter, your dad is here to see you.
[SOFT GRUNT.]
[SHAKY BREATHS.]
Hi.
[STIRRING MUSIC.]
I I hate you.
I've always hated you.
- There we go.
- Oh, what happened? Someone had a little slip and fall up on L and D.
I got a little excited.
Thought I could stand at Regina's bedside.
Let me take a look.
Ooh, yeah, that's a real humdinger.
Probably best if I put in a couple stitches.
- I'm fine.
- Well, just to be safe.
I wanna get back upstairs.
I don't wanna miss my grandbaby.
It's only gonna take a minute.
Dr.
Bloom, I'm at a time in my life where every minute matters.
Okay, look, at least let me thrown on some bandages for the road, okay? I always dreamt of being a grandmother [LAUGHS, COUGHS.]
Spoiling my grandkids with love.
I really thought I would have more time.
Marianne? - M-Marianne? - W-Whoa, okay, okay.
Get her legs.
Okay.
- No pulse.
- Cardiac arrest.
Grab the defibrillator.
What are you doing? She's DNR.
- You you cannot be serious.
- Oh, no, no, no.
We gotta let her go.
In two seconds I can have her breathing again.
Lauren, she made her wishes clear.
She wishes to see her grandchild! But that was a minute ago in a conversation.
The legal and binding choice she made was no shocks, no medical intervention.
Look, it's here in her file.
Okay, but if she was awake right now, she would reverse that DNR, and you know it.
- But she's not awake.
- That's because we're arguing instead of trying to resuscitate her! Lauren, if you touch Marianne, you're violating her rights.
You need to let her go in peace.
Here, no, she's DNR.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Lauren! What are you doing? Someone get the crash cart in here now! Stop! I need MP.
Come on, Marianne.
[DEFIBRILLATOR CHARGING.]
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
Enjoy the trip, Doc.
If Dr.
Sharpe thinks this will help, she's worse off than I am.
This stays between us.
- And thank you.
- For what? I wasn't even here.
Oh, you gotta get me back before Burning Man.
Uh, hey, everyone.
Sorry to interrupt.
Um, it was recently brought to my attention that this feels like a hospital.
So I'd like you to meet our new therapists and social workers, all of whom are fully trained in palliative care.
I've also hired some acupuncturists and a yoga instructor, massage therapist, and last but not least, I would like you to meet - Trinket and Cici! - Aww.
Hey, hi there! Uh, these guys are gonna hang out with you and have some fun, so without further ado, I'd like you to welcome the new full-time staff of "The Graveyard.
" And we've really gotta change that name.
I am impressed.
Not bad, right? But like we used to say at the Yonkers City Council, how the hell are we paying for this? I'm working on it.
So how did you like the lunch I prepared for you? It was so good.
I loved it, thank you.
And what was your favorite part? - Mutton samosa? - Yup, yes, definitely.
They were vegetable samosas.
How could you give away the food that I just made for you? It's too much.
Okay, I will pack a smaller lunch.
No, that's not what I meant.
I mean, I know I asked for help, but you're smothering me.
I was just trying to help you.
I know, and I'm sorry, but I don't need to be helped like that.
You're stressing me out.
This is what family does.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I just if this is gonna work, I just need us to have some boundaries.
Boundaries? What kind of boundaries? Just for starters, you can't feed me five courses at every meal.
I know that might be how you do things, but it's not how I want to do them.
I wanna eat what I wanna eat.
Okay.
Well If this is what you feel.
I'll see you at home.
Don't wait up.
Welcome to Pain De Vie.
[KNOCK AT DOOR.]
Oh hey.
Hey.
How are you holding up? Still can't get his words out of my head.
Don't think I ever will.
Yeah.
[SIGHS.]
You know, I, um I've said those words to my father.
I've hated my father.
I've hated him.
But I never stopped loving him.
Ever.
And I care what he thinks about me.
I really do.
Just like how Peter cared what you thought about him.
Okay, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I was never there for him.
He asked for you.
That was his dying wish was to see you.
And yes, it was ugly, and it was rough.
But I promise you, it was not just hate.
Well, doesn't matter now.
It's over.
No, no, no.
But for Peter, it is, yes.
But not for you.
You get to finish the conversation.
[DEBUSSY'S "CLAIR DE LUNE" PLAYING.]
I don't think this is working.
I've heard death described as the introduction of ink into water.
So it's not a vanishing, it's an expansion.
A poetic treatment won't solve a concrete problem.
I relate as a scientist, I do.
But to me, numbers are not concrete at all.
And neither is death.
Make your case, doctor.
What's the highest number? Or the last digit in pi? How many snowflakes are in a blizzard? When it comes to the end of life, maybe we need to leave quantifiable behind and rely instead on experience.
After all, no one can count all the snowflakes in a winter storm.
[MUSIC STOPS.]
Nothing is actually very easy to count.
She's stable.
Heart rate and rhythm normal.
Blood pressure steady.
Mentally intact.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
Are you Are you punishing me? For saving her life? The ends don't justify the means.
Marianne is gonna get to see her grandchild before she dies.
Once you started to resuscitate her, when were you going to stop? At three broken ribs? At a chest tube? What if you had revived Marianne only to learn that she was brain dead? Yeah, well, none of that happened.
Yeah, but our job was to give her a good death.
She had it and you just took it away.
I did what Max would have wanted.
Oh, you're gonna pin it on Max? Not just Max.
You know, Sharpe, Iggy, Kapoor All of them would've done the exact same thing.
- Oh, you don't know that.
- Take a look around, Floyd.
Everyone here bends the rules.
Everyone except you.
So you wanna find someone to shame, someone who doesn't fit in here, you're looking at the wrong person.
Uh, thank you all for coming to Debra's living wake.
If you have things you wish to say to her, feelings you wish her to know, now is the time.
Why why don't you start us off, Debra? Um, tell everyone what you're feeling.
I can't do this.
Yes, you can.
Just open up.
Ladies and gentlemen, Debra Keating.
[GASPS.]
Beverly? [DOG WHINING.]
Come here, girl.
Come here.
All right.
[GASPS.]
Most of you know my Beverly.
What you don't know is that when my health plummeted, she was so worried about me she wouldn't even touch her food.
She became so sad and lethargic.
So she really experienced the illness with me.
So even though it broke my heart, I gave her to my sister, Anna.
My rock since the day I was born.
And Frank, the best brother-in-law.
I love you and your whole family.
Is Ted here? There you are.
Thank you for being here.
And, uh, Jeremy.
I I never thought I'd say this out loud - Debra - But I I have loved you ever since that night at the ferry.
- I didn't know how to say it.
- Stop, stop speaking.
Stop speaking, please.
This wake is over.
Please, thank you, and good-bye.
Please, thank you, bye-bye.
Bye.
- What are you doing? - You you can't have a wake.
[STAMMERS.]
You're not dying, so Tell me you kept the receipts.
Okay, before you say anything else, uh, you should know that, uh, it looks expensive, and that's because it is.
But it's the right thing to do, and it's all paid for.
And how, pray tell, is that even possible? Because of you.
All your hard work with the new donor, Ozzie Cobb.
$5 million donation, wow.
And all I need for this is $1 million.
You, Karen Brantley, are a genius.
Ozzie Cobb hasn't given a dime to this hospital.
- What's that now? - He's a selfish tight-ass who pledges millions every year and never donates a damn thing.
I was hoping to get him on the hook.
But he wriggled out again.
And if you just had shown up, you might've been able to reel him back in, but you didn't.
And now it's too late.
- Okay.
If I'd known that - Save it, Max.
Because you just spent $1 million we don't have.
- Um - Get everyone out of here today.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
I'm not going to die? Nope.
going to be the biggest, You and Beverly both have a bacterial disease called Leptospirosis.
It presents the same in humans and canines.
Uh, you must have gotten it on one of your walks.
- But how did no one - The symptoms were masked by your Scleroderma.
It was well hidden.
Then how did you know? I listened to you.
With antibiotics, both of you will make a full recovery.
Oh.
[CRYING.]
Once you start with the emotions, it's hard to stop, isn't it? [CRYING.]
Oh, my God.
I told all those people how I feel.
Even Jeremy.
I realize now that a living wake may not have been what you needed.
I'm really sorry for forcing you to have one.
Don't you dare be sorry.
My wake It was the best day of my life.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Peter.
You are my baby boy.
I wish I wish I could've shown you how much how much I love you.
But Papa's here now.
I'm here.
And I'm not leaving.
Ozzie, I am so glad I caught you.
You are one slippery fish.
Well, I told chairwoman Bradley I've see everything I needed to see.
Yeah, actually, not everything.
- The floor is yours, Max.
- Okay, great, thank you.
And, uh, thank you all for coming.
Tonight, I have the great pleasure of introducing our new palliative care unit, where our patients will spend their final days being cared for on their own terms.
It's a dream come true for this hospital.
But it almost didn't happen.
Thanks to a very, very charitable last-minute donation, we can now call this one-of-a-kind unit a permanent feature here in New Amsterdam.
So now, when you think of philanthropy, you will forever think of the "Ozzie Cobb Palliative Care Wing.
" Take a look at that! Pretty good, right? Oh thank you! Yes! Look at this guy! I I did n I I know, I couldn't agree more.
I think what you're trying to say in front of everyone gathered here today, our patients oh, look at that the news media, the print, broadcast and streaming outlets Hi there Is thank you.
Now let's get a few photos of him signing the check, shall we? Let's really capture this moment of boundless philanthropy for everyone to see, huh? You're on the hook now.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
- [APPLAUSE.]
Hey, all right! [APPLAUSE.]
- Smile, please.
- Yes! He's the best, isn't he? [SEAFRET'S "GIVE ME SOMETHING" PLAYING.]
What you say Tells me nothing What's the truth? Give me something Take me down a road I believe in Lost the way Lost all reason Ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh Hello, Dr.
Duarte.
The answer is yes.
I'd love to come work for you at Yerba Buena Hospital.
[CELL PHONE RINGS.]
- Trying to save it Before I fall out Show me somehow I can make it [PHONE CHIMES.]
All that we gave Was it wasted? Falling down broke holding one hope That you'll make it Give me something Give me something Give me something To hold on to I've got nothing Hell of a day.
Since I lost you Yeah.
Burden me.
I don't know what Georgia would've wanted.
And we were so busy trying to save our marriage and deal with my cancer I didn't even ask her.
The flowers.
I just feel like I got the flowers wrong.
They were beautiful.
The funeral home, they They sent options, and, you know, I I mean, I just let them choose and then - What if what if - Max, you've got to forgive yourself.
[DEBUSSY'S "CLAIR DE LUNE" PLAYING.]
Maybe I thought if I can prepare everyone else, then I could.
And? [SCOFFS.]
What do you want when the time comes? I You don't have to Well, someone should know.
Um Luna by my side, singing to me.
[SMALL LAUGH.]
Even if I can't hear it.
Just wanna feel that she's there.
I'll tell her.
What about you? How about we just throw a big party and call it a day? What kind of party? Are we talking, uh, piñatas or clowns I was thinking more dancing.
Dancing? Okay, so, like tango or merengue? See, you gotta be specific so I get it right.
Oh, so you're in charge? Someone should be.
[INDISTINCT SPEECH.]
[SWEEPING ORCHESTRATION CONTINUES.]