Shortly after the debut of Lenox Hill, which follows four doctors at a New York City area hospital during the latter half 2019, the Netflix docuseries is back with an harrowing new episode about the coronavirus outbreak. The special, ninth installment — “Pandemic” — captures what Dr. John Boockvar and Dr. David Langer of the neurosurgery department and Dr. Mirtha Macri, an emergency room physician, went through as the city became the epicenter of COVID-19.
Much like the rest of the season, the half-hour episode gives an inside look at what life is like for healthcare workers — only this time, their personal and professional lives have been upended by an unimaginable global pandemic. It starts on March 13, at the beginning of the shutdown in Manhattan and around much of the country, and continues through the end of May, when people began protesting over the killing of George Floyd.
“We had the privilege of getting to know these doctors when filming this series and we felt a deep responsibility to continue to share their stories as they navigated this unprecedented and life-changing situation,” Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash, executive producers and directors of the series, said in a statement. They added that “with this special episode, we wanted people to see the impact this pandemic had, and is still having, on our hospitals and healthcare workers through the eyes of people on the frontlines.”
While speaking with 360aproko ahead of the premiere, Dr. Boockvar, Dr. Langer and Dr. Macri recounted what it was like to work amid the pandemic.
“It was terrifying at first, but then gratifying later on,” Dr. Langer said, explaining, “I think the terrifying part was when I didn’t know what to do. But once I figured out what we and our team should do and then initiated those changes is when it became gratifying.” He also said he and his department learned a lot about who they were as individuals and as a team. “I feel really lucky to have gone through what we went through, I’m not gonna lie to you,” he added.
For Dr. Macri, who is now expecting her second child, returning to the emergency room was a bit more stressful and she said the morale among the team struggled at times. “We were overwhelmed,” she admitted. “But throughout it all, it took a lot of teamwork and effort to maintain things… We did an amazing job.”
Meanwhile, for those wondering about Dr. Amanda Little-Richardson, she moved to California after the season was completed. While not filmed for the episode, she did tell 360aproko that the OB department where she now works has been lucky to have younger, healthier patients who aren’t as high-risk for the virus. “We’re taking extra precautions,” she said, while adding how much respect she has for her colleagues who have been the primary caretakers of COVID-19 patients.
