The People's Hospital by Ricardo Nuila

THE PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL is written by Ricardo Nuila, an associate professor of medicine, medical ethics, and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine. Nuila subtitles his book “Hope and Peril in American Medicine” and he profiles several patients’ experiences with the Harris Health System and innovations at Ben Taub hospital in Houston. The patients have different illnesses (e.g., cancer, knee pain, HIV positive since birth) and life situations (undocumented immigrant, green card holder, mother with high risk pregnancy) but they are uninsured and thus rely on a “safety-net” hospital like Ben Taub which is public and locally funded. His statistics are astounding: Texas has the nation’s largest uninsured population and Harris Health provides “more than $1 billion worth of healthcare every year for the indigent.” His writing is excellent, using “stories to think through a problem that goes beyond any one body.” There is broad recognition that we need to fix American healthcare and Nuila crafts an argument that is empathetic, personal, and worth reading. THE PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL received a starred review from Kirkus (“compassionate, engrossing story of frustrated hopes and unlikely victories”).