The Waiting Room is a character-driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients. The film offers a raw, intimate, and even uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers each cope with disease, bureaucracy and hard choices.

The ER waiting room serves as the grounding point for the film, capturing in vivid detail what it means for millions of Americans to live without health insurance. We witness the minute-by-minute Sisyphean struggle that plagues public hospitals, where emergency rooms have to field the overwhelming health care needs of the inner city. The film weaves the stories of several patients - as well as the hospital staff charged with caring for them - as they cope with the complexity of the nation's public health care system, while weathering the storm of a national recession.

Objectives:

To show the personal and systemic challenges faced by individuals without health insurance as they seek care in public hospitals, particularly in the emergency room setting.

To examine the personal and professional struggles of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers as they balance patient care with the limitations of the healthcare system, often making difficult decisions.

To witness the intimate, emotional journeys of patients navigating the healthcare system, illustrating their resilience, hope, and persistence despite overwhelming odds.