Lessons in Politics and Ethics from the Public Hospital: A Portrait from the Inside

By Stephen Foster

Lessons in Politics and Ethics from the Public Hospital takes us behind the scenes of one of America's last major public hospitals - San Francisco General.

Drawing on his unique position as both an anthropologist and a psychiatric nurse with 26 years of experience, Foster reveals the complex interplay between compassionate care and institutional constraints that defines modern public healthcare. Through vivid storytelling and keen analytical insight, this book illuminates how caregivers navigate the daily challenges of treating over 100,000 patients annually - from trauma victims to the mentally ill, from the indigent to the disenfranchised. He presents an innovative conceptual framework that delineates four essential models for the care process: normalization, care, trauma response, and management. This compelling narrative explores: The delicate balance between compassionate care and fiscal constraints; how caregivers develop an ethics of practice in challenging conditions; the hospital's evolution in response to public health crises; the intersection of societal ills with medical and traumatic illness; the future of public healthcare in America.

Both a deeply human story and a critical analysis of our healthcare system, this book offers an unprecedented look at how a major public hospital functions, adapts, and perseveres in an era of increasing precarity. Essential reading for healthcare professionals, policymakers, anthropologists, and anyone concerned with the future of public health in America.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1041139292
• ISBN13: 9781041139294
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 190 Pages