Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Charlie on Equality in the Emergency Room


"I've been in DC now for four years. I grew up right outside of town. I left for about ten years and then came back for my residency in emergency medicine at George Washington University Hospital. Because I work bizarre hours, I get to meet people like me who celebrate a side of DC that isn't the veneer that is written about. One thing that I really love is the horticulture club at Dumbarton Oaks. I volunteer my time there. I really think that place is wonderful. The fixed gear bicycle polo club is another example of a brilliant, DC gone wild kind of scene. I play a little bit, but I'm not very good.

"One of the things that makes the Emergency Department here interesting is that you get diplomats lying right next to homeless people. All people are treated equally once they are on the operating table. I will say that working here, I get a much better sense of the spirit of the people and the city that you don't see in a lot of Northwest. We get a lot of indigent folks from Southeast and Southwest DC. There were a number of hospitals that closed down there, so a bunch of that traffic is brought here. Meeting those people and hearing those stories gives me a better perspective of this city. This job has inspired me to get more involved with community activism and advocate for an affordable and safer Southeast and Southwest."

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