Pitt Crew: HH&S Connects New Medical Series with Experts
- Abortion
- Caregiving
- Diseases
- End of Life Care
- Entertainment Industry
- Healthcare
- Maternal Health
- Mental Health
- Older Adults
The new Max medical series The Pitt, which stars Noah Wyle (of ER fame) as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, may just be one of the most realistic looks at a major hospital’s emergency department, and the challenges facing healthcare workers in America.
The medical drama, created by R. Scott Gemmill with John Wells as an executive producer, presents each episode as one hour of real time, covering a 15-hour shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, a teaching hospital.
It leaves out the usual romantic entanglements among staff, and skips the bouncy or breathless Emo music tracks. Through the entrance comes a steady stream of emergency cases—from overdoses to grisly accidents. The triage team constantly wriggles their hands into those blue nitrile gloves, then discards them before moving on to a new patient. Rapid-fire medical jargon fills crowded exam bays.
The series has been renewed for a second season.
HH&S did 15 briefings with the show’s writers room, bringing in experts in the fields of mental health, healthcare disparities, end-of-life care, caregiving, abortion, organ donation, neurodiversity, transgender care and more.
“Thanks for all of your support that helped us craft so many stories,” said co-executive producer and writer Dr. Joe Sachs. “So much of the richness of our story-telling is a direct result of the expert briefings that HH&S arranged. Couldn’t have done it without you!”
Here is the complete list of experts:
- Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah: EMS medical director, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
- Dr. Sheila Roth: University of Pittsburgh professor at the Department of Community Health Services, and co-founding director of the Social Work Department at Carlow University.
- Jeff Kashou, LMFT: Clinical product lead at Upheal, and former service chief at Youth Reporting Centers in Orange County, California.
- Dr. Ira Byock: palliative care physician, end-of-life advocate, and author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible.
- Dr. Wendy Ross: Director for the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity, Thomas Jefferson University
- Jennifer Cook: Host of Love on the Spectrum (Netflix); and author of Autism on Heels and the “Asperkids” book series.
- Chelsie Sobecki: Transplant coordinator, Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE)/Donate Life organ procurement nonprofit
- Dr. Shruti Dhapodkar: Leads San Mateo County’s Department of Emergency Management, where she oversees development and execution of emergency planning and training.
- Dr. Lisa Harris: Professor of reproductive health, women’s and gender studies, and director of the Health Sciences Scholars Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
- Dr. Laura Taylor: Medical director of gender affirming care at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
- Dr. Gyanendra Kumar: Vascular neurologist, Mayo Clinic.