There are times where I really get New Amsterdam and feel like this is a hospital that I would be okay being at. And hey, that’s hard – cause I hate hospitals.
I spend way too much time there.
But New Amsterdam is a place where doctors care and you aren’t just another dollar sign. They genuinely want to help and that’s something that, I personally don’t find very often. I feel like every time I set foot in a hospital, I am just another dollar sign for them.
But not New Amsterdam. Max has set up a hospital where he wants the people to feel at home. He wants them to feel taken care of. He wants them to know that if it’s within New Amsterdam‘s resources, he’s gonna make it happen. And if it’s out of their resources, he will find a way.
And that’s the beauty of this show.
But that’s not to say that Max doesn’t have his challenges. He has plenty. Way too many. But he’s a man that will rise to the occasion and make sure that people know – he is going to make a difference.
No matter what it takes.
NO ONE LIKES TO BALANCE A BUDGET
Max is tasked with cutting 2 million dollars from the budget or the hospital will not make payroll. If they don’t make payroll, that means that the hospital workers will be sent home.
And if there is one thing that we know about Max it’s that he’s always going to do whatever it takes for his people.
You would think that balancing the budget would make for boring TV, but it doesn’t. New Amsterdam makes sure that you find the fun, the enjoyment in every storyline.
This one will be no different.
Max is told that if he cuts one program he can make the budget. But he’s not willing to do that. So he’s going to figure out ways to cut everywhere in order to make it.
But Max goes through the motions and he’s reminded that every program is there for a reason. Every program has a reason to be and a life that is changing. Balancing the budget it’s not black and white.
It’s a mixture of a million things.
And as Max goes from department to department to try and find the things to cut, he’s reminded of why all the things are there.
But ultimately he’s forced to approve cutting the program that he didn’t want to.
But here’s the thing about Max, even when he’s forced into a corner, ultimately he will figure it out. He will make sure that no one suffers, because he always wants to do the best for everyone.
And Todd knew that Max would figure out something. He did. He didn’t have to cut the budget, instead adding a program to the budget, was how he was able to save New Amsterdam and make payroll.
MEXICO?
One of Max’s ideas to save money was that Floyd do his surgeries in Mexico. Now, I am not trying to be an asshole, but this one of Max’s dumbest ideas.
But Floyd, he goes to Mexico and not thinking anything of it, tells one of the doctors there that he is leaving New Amsterdam. Only thing is – he hasn’t told Max yet.
Sometimes wanting someone to hear you leaves you voiceless to the person that needs to hear you, because someone else will be your voice.
They are doing the surgeries, when one has complications. Only Floyd can’t get what he needs, because it isn’t a hospital. So he figures out a way to treat the patient with what he has.
And this reminds the doctor there that she misses real medicine. She misses what it was like to really save a life.
And so later that night she calls Max and asks to be put up for Floyd’s job. Only thing is Max didn’t know Floyd was leaving.
MOTHERS… CAN’T LIVE WITH THEM OR WITHOUT THEM
If there is one thing that I think that we can all agree on, it’s that Mom’s are complicated. They love us with everything that they are and at the same time can not like us. We can not like them. It’s a round about circle that happens to us all.
Lauren is excited that she no longer has to use her cane and and her foot is feeling better. She’s excited and wants the world to recognize how far she’s come.
But she notices a lady sitting in the hallway and you see her face become stoic. This woman is obviously getting to her.
They have a patient come in who fell and hit her head. She’s Jewish and it’s the Sabbath, so her daughter is upset even more. She is afraid of it being the Sabbath and using electricity. But her Dad assures her there are exceptions.
The patient keeps having issues – she looses all feeling in her legs, can’t move her arms – and no one can figure out what is happening.
But leave it to Dr. Kapoor to figure it out. I love a doctor that listens and once again it’s his listening ear and his knowledge that helps solve the issue.
The patients daughter had broken the Sabbath previously and snuck a hotdog.
Let me start by saying this – one should never in their life consume a hotdog – especially a dirty water dog. The little girl accidentally gave her Mom tapeworm from a hot dog she had snuck on the Sabbath. Let this be a cautionary tale to us all.
The good thing to come out of any of this is that Lauren realizes that she needs to talk to the lady in the hallway. That lady being her Mom.
TUMORS
A 13 year old boy has a tumor in her stomach. How does a 13 year old boy get a tumor from stress?
To be honest, I wouldn’t want to be 13. 13 is hard.
This poor kid doesn’t know how to talk about what is happening to him. He doesn’t realize what is happening consciously, but is holding it all in and it’s making him sick.
Iggy talks to him and he explains to his Mom that it’s racism that is giving him anxiety and stress. He doesn’t know how to vocalize it.
The boy goes in for surgery to remove the tumor from his stomach and they find four tumors in his stomach. The doctors know that this is going to keep happening. And they wonder, how do they stop it?
There is no coding for racism. Iggy is determined that this not be swept under the rug. He’s got this want to fix the world, and it’s admirable. But in that Iggy is overlooking the patient that is in front of them and needs help now.
Helen needs to remind him of that.
Iggy needs to help this kid be able to talk and recognize the stressors around him. Iggy needs to remind him that it’s okay to talk and it’s okay to vocalize all of the hurt and stress that he feels.
Because it is valid.
What this child and so many experience – it is not fair. It is not right. It is not something that anyone should have to experience.
I admire Iggy wanting to change the world, but changing the world starts with changing one thing, one person.
And that’s what Iggy needs to be reminded of.
The world is filled with cruelty and sometimes filled with kindness. But we need to make the world filled with more kindness.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Artificial intelligence is a good thing, but it will never replace human beings
- There is always a way to solve problems if we look hard enough.
- I want to know what Castro is up to. She’s always been untrustworthy, but I feel like she’s putting patients lives in danger and that’s scary.
New Amsterdam airs Tuesdays on NBC.