Getting On (2013–2015): Season 1, Episode 1 - Born on the Fourth of July - full transcript

Just like that.
Rest there.

There's a turd
on a chair in the lounge.

Excuse me?

Somebody shit on a chair.

Okay. First of all,
it's "feces."

It's not "shit."
It's not "turd."

There's a feces
on a chair in the lounge.

Okay.
I'm coming.

Show me where.

Birdy, did you have
a bowel movement?

Did you go BM?



When?

Uh, about
15 minutes ago?

In that chair.

I don't think so.

Did you see someone
maybe who did

make a BM?

No.

No?

I'll get a Kleenex
and clean it up.

No no no, we have to file
an incident report first.

Yes, hi.

May I please speak
to Mrs. Sandy Sales?

It's Nurse Dawn Forchette.

Mount Palms, Long Beach.



It's regarding
her sister Lilian.

No, I need to talk to her
in person about this.

Can you just
have her call me?

"Found a feces
in a chair."

No. No.

The incident reports
need to be really really specific.

Okay, what else
should I put?

Well, for starters,
it's not "a feces,"

it's just "feces."

But it wasn't
a gang of them.

It was just one piece.

Yeah, but there's
no singular form

for "feces."

It's not "fece"
or "a feces."

It's just feces.

Who found it?
Me.

When did they find it?
I found it.

See, this is
my name right here.

Technically, because it's
a potential agent of infection,

we would have Environmental Services
come down to collect it.

But the backlog
is horrendous,

so I'm just gonna ahead
and have you red-bag it.

If it'll make it quicker,
I could just pick it up with a Kleenex,

wipe off the chair with some bleach. Boom.
You can't.

That might be
what you do at home,

but you cannot
do that in the hospital.

There's just certain protocol.
I'm glad somebody

enjoys working
on a national holiday.

I'm completely over it.

What bed is she in?

109.
That's the dead one?

The deceased party, yeah.

Long-term forms are not
the same as third-party claims.

If their Medicare benefit runs out,
Medicaid might cover it.

Yes, she is deceased.

Can you get me
a death certificate?

Hi.

I'm-- I'm Denise.

Ortley.
Didi.

It's my first day.

I'm giving Denise
her orientation.

Oh, that's nice.

Welcome aboard.

I'm assuming
respiratory arrest?

Mm-hmm.

You do know that
there's a fecal deposit on that chair?

Um, yes.
We are on top of that.

Is it mine?

Possibly.
Possibly.

Is it one of mine
for my fecal collection?

Uh, I'm not sure.

The Cleveland Conference
next month

is fast approaching, Dawn.
I didn't think you would want this one

because it was abandoned.

Well,
it's a perfectly good sample.

It's good
as any of the others.

But I've already instructed
Denise to red-bag it.

Okay,
what are the red bags?

Well, clearly she hasn't yet.
Oh no, I can do it.

I just didn't know-- But I instructed it,
and that's the protocol.

Dawn, no, I want it.
What exactly is it you want me to do?

Excuse me.
I want it put into a specimen cup

and sent to the lab--
Dr. James. No, I understand that,

but because of C. diff
and infections,

I want to first positively
identify whose it is.

Well, it's that patient
sitting right across from it, no?

I don't think
it's Birdy's.

I wouldn't be so sure.

Does it look like
a fresh one of hers?

It's along the same...
lines,

but she wears a diaper,
and she can't take it off herself.

Look, there's no C. diff.
It's well-formed.

There's no irregularity, so--

So I'll call the lab
and have them...

pick it up for you.
Yes, thank you.

You would
do that for me?

You know what?
Let me just move the chair out the way.

Careful of that.
Don't squish that.

It's just really important
that I have enough data

to make sure that my statistics
are completely airtight.

Scientific method.

The deceased was 87.

I'm assuming from the cake.
Yes. Mm-hmm.

Actually, today is
her birthday, which means...

Ohh.
...she was born on the Fourth Of July.

Well, it looks delicious.
I wonder if that's buttercream.

Her sister said
it was double boiled.

She'll be
coming down today.

Oh, that's a shame. Okay.

Can I get a copy
of this, nurse?

Would you mind?

Thank you.
Okay.

Uh, Dawn?

Just one other thing.
I need that bed-- the deceased's.

I can't.
It's already spoken for.

We have
an Alzheimer's patient,

kind of burnt herself
really badly.

You have anything else
opening up?

Nothing. It's for a patient
recovering from prostate surgery.

A man?
Well, obviously.

Beverly will flip out
if I give her bed away...

Well, we have to rehash this
every single time

I want a bed.

None of these women
are ever gonna know the difference

if there's a man
on the floor.

Mrs. Robinson might--

Okay, what's
the situation there?

She had shoulder surgery
and is in rehab,

but the physical therapist
said that she's progressing very nicely.

So maybe...
Okay.

...next week she could--
Mrs. Robinson. I could take a look at her,

and then if all goes well,

Dawn, you will make sure
that I get what I want.

Yes? Good good good.

Hello, fellas.

I'm sorry you're
giving up your holidays,

but bonus points
for diligence.

Glad to see you're
finally with us, Mr. Cesario.

We have 36 beds
on the floor.

14 sub-acute,

17 dementia and Alzheimer's.

The ventilator suite.

Hello, Irma.
Como esta?

Know your population.

In Southern California, if it looks like
a melanoma, it is a melanoma.

Save yourself the trouble,
just cut it out.

Hello!

- I'm Dr. Jenna James.
- How are you?

You know where you are? You're in
the Billy Barnes Extended Care Unit.

Do you know
what day it is?

She doesn't seem
to speak much English.

This is Dr. James.
She's our Director of Medicine.

Temporarily. I'm just filling in
until they get someone permanent.

I'm actually a real doctor
over at the hospital.

Do you have a chart?
She actually doesn't have one.

She was an emergency
admit last night.

Didi? The Long Beach PD
picked her up

wandering along the shoulder
of the 110 near San Pedro

in her nightgown?
That's what they said.

It's increasingly common.
So we actually don't know who she is.

I know she has
a very high temperature.

She has
a high temperature.

Her blood pressure
is low.

Low blood pressure.

And she's confused.

Very confused.

I mean, we think it's confusion,
but because of the language--

We really can't tell, so we're going
to assume that she's confused.

Is it Chinese?
Are you speaking Chinese?

Well, Chinese is not--
that's not a language, Dawn.

There are dozens and dozens of dialects
and languages.

Indonesian maybe?

Are you speaking Indonesian?

- That's the same.
- The same?

So ER is up and running.
Just send her back over to the hospital.

We can't send
a patient back over

until they've had a complete
physical evaluation on them.

Patty?
I think her name is Patty.

I think she's
saying "paw-tea."

It sounds like
"paw-tea."

But with her accent,
I think what she's saying is Patty.

Well, I think Patty would be
a pretty unlikely name for--

Is it Polly?

That's pretty much what I said.
It's the same.

Well, I think for the moment
we're going to assume that it's Polly.

So differential diagnosis.

Men, where do
we start here?

What is that, Mr. Cesario?
Is that a scalpel?

Uh, yes, ma'am.
We had a lab this morning.

We don't wander around with sharp
objects over here in Extended Care.

We're not the Crips
and the Jets.

I'm just gonna have
a little listen to your chest here, Polly.

She's gonna
listen to your heart.

I can't hear anything
with all the--

I really think, Dawn,
you're going to have to call LanguageLine.

Okay, I will try,
but I think with the holiday

they might not be in.
But maybe in the interim,

we can give her something
to help calm her down.

I think that's something
that we could think about.

Are y'all really
gonna sedate somebody

just 'cause they talking
a little too much?

Nobody's saying anything
about sedating.

No one's being sedated.
No. That's not what we do here.

We don't dope up our patients
just for our own convenience.

But she's just talking.

Yes, but the signs
of distress, Denise,

are pretty clear.

And, you know,
she's agitated.

So for her benefit,
I think what we could do

is give her something
to calm her down.

The point is that we're
doing everything we can

in the best interest
of the patient.

That's right.
And the commode, please?

I'm not able to do a proper
evaluation on you right now, Polly,

but we're gonna take
very good care of you

and you're gonna be
just as good as new.

Where do we go now?

Uh, Mrs. Drabinsky
over here.

It's okay,
pretty girl.

We are gonna get this
all worked out.

They found me wandering
on the 405 in my pajamas

after my brother's 50th.

Don't even ask me
how I got there.

We gonna find out who you are,
and everything's gonna be fine.

Okay?

She's just a hired
staff doctor at the hospital,

which is how come
they can make her fill in

and cover over here.

A crucifix
and a rosary.

Oh, and save that
cake for Sandy.

Poor thing went through
a lot of trouble to make that.

She should
get that back.

You really think she wants
to eat her dead sister's birthday cake?

Why not? I would.

Her dentures.

Give me those.
I gotta get them back in her mouth.

Thank you.

Take that.

She still has her
original uppers.

She did pretty good
for 87.

You know who got
some good teeth

is all those Jacksons.
All of them--

Really?
Randy, La Toya, Rebbie.

My family has terrible teeth.

I read this.

The Menendez Brothers'
"Bad Blood."

Wasn't that those
cute boys that killed their daddy?

I like my father.
Me too.

My mama--
that's a whole 'nother story.

Okay, you want to keep putting
those drops in her eyes

until Antoine gets here. 'Cause she's a
tissue donor, and if her eyes dry out,

the lab gets really
really pissed off at us.

All right.
That's it.

That's everything
she came in with.

Hand me that cake.

I'm gonna go call Antoine.

Wait till you meet Antoine.

He's very nice
on the eyes.

But I will tell you that sex with someone
in the workplace

is a really really bad idea.

It's a big big
"whoops, kitty."

Hey, Denise.
How you doing? Hey, Beverly.

I'm hanging in there.

Denise, can you check on Mrs. Watley's
catheter, please?

Yes.
Thank you.

You know, we are still
waiting on Antoine

to come pick up Lilian.
Can you believe that?

Wow. I put the drops in
her eyes like you asked me to.

But her eyeballs are
getting kind of crunchy.

What is that?

Um, I'm not sure.

That might be
for Dr. James' fecal study.

Excuse me?
She said that she told you she's doing--

How long has that
been sitting there?

Just a couple hours.

I did not--
No no no.

No, all we're doing--
You cannot let that woman talk you into--

We're just collecting.
Turds?

All I'm doing with that
particular sample right now

is I want to properly
identify whose it is

before the lab
picks it up.

Oh, for fuck's sake, Dawn.

We get an infections report
with rampant C. diff,

we almost lost
our fucking license.

Denise, could you get this
out of my sight, please?

Right away?
I tried to flush it,

but then we were told to leave it.
No, now.

Maybe we should call Dr. James,
Right now.

because she was
very adamant that we--

And you,
I cannot believe

how you suck up to her.

You know she's
only nice to you

when she wants
something from you.

She uses you for all
her bullshit studies.

Do you understand
that this hospital

is inches away from losing
its Medicare reimbursement?

Shh!

What are you still
standing there for?

Dawn, what is the one thing
I've brought up to you again and again

and again in your assessments?

Floor cleanliness?

Well, I'm just saying.
I'm sorry.

I'm really really sorry.

Just stop letting her
push you around.

Learn to stand up
for yourself.

Extended Care,
first floor.

Okay. Dawn?

Yeah?
It's the LanguageLine
to translate.

Oh Jesus, thank God.
Okay.

When can they come down?
All right. Oh!

They said they can't
send someone till tomorrow.

This cannot wait.
We need to take care of this right now.

Do not let them
off the phone.

See if maybe we can
just tell them

what she's saying,

and then they can
translate it for us.

We're gonna try to
tell you what she's saying.

Okay.

He says that doesn't
mean anything.

You gotta go up.

He says that doesn't mean
anything either.

He says that doesn't
mean anything either.

Okay. You know what?
Put it on speakerphone.

Put it on speakerphone
and then they can hear her directly.

Hold on one second.
How do I do that?

Press "hold," and then "intercom,"
and then "line."

Hold what then what?

Whatever line.
Just pick a line.
How do I know which line?

Because it's blinking.
You'll see it blinking.

What blink?

It's flashing in front
of you, Denise.

Can you see it flashing?
The whole phone is flashing.

I don't know how to work
this old-ass phone.

Hold it up.
Hold the phone up.

Hold it out
as far as you can,

and then they'll hear
what she's saying.

And tell them it's
something Chinese-y.

We think it's
something Chinese-y.

That's a good one.
That's got to be something.

Did you get that?

Good.

He says she says,
"I can't stand this.

I wish I was dead.
Please kill me."

It's Khmer.
She's Cambodian.

Cambodian. I knew it was
something like that. Okay.
Cambodian. Cambodian.

Note it in the file, please? Thank you.
Cambodian. Cambodian.

Thank you so much.
What's your name?

You've got to do
the breathing, honey.

I can't do that for you.
Breathe.
Dawn.

Dawn?
Come on.
There you go.

Oh. Okay.
I'll be right back.

Good afternoon,
Mrs. Robinson.

Koo-koo-ca-choo.

That's "I am the Walrus."

What?

No, just a joke.

How are
we feeling today?

I just really really
want to go home.

Believe me, we want you out and back
in your own home too.

So going over the results
here of your scans,

it looks like your shoulder's
responding very well.

The physical therapist said
she wouldn't let me go

until I could raise my arm.
Yeah, I read her report,

and I definitely need
to consult with her.

She said if I left, it would be against
medical advice and--

Well, is she a doctor?
No, I'm a doctor.

Well, is there someone
that could help you once you got home?

Maybe your children?
Look, I can do well on my own.

I'm very independent.
Well, we certainly know that many patients

recover more quickly once they're in their
familiar surroundings.

I just think that we might
have a liability issue.

Well, Dawn, of course.
If she can't reach her hand--

That's why we're called upon
to make a judgment.

I've never felt better
in my life.

Well, here's to you,
Mrs. Robinson.

And if more of our patients had that
kind of can-do attitude,

what would we doctors
do for a living?

So you'll do the paperwork,
Dawn? Thank you much. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Appreciate that.
And I need the bed right away,

so make it a priority.

Okay.

Dr. Rabaldi, he was a great Director
of Medicine.

He was really handsome too.

He got shit-canned over
the bad infections report,

and then they've been interviewing
for that position

for like three months.

Everyone says that we're dragging the rest
of the medical center down,

which we're not.

Plus people say that
Extended Care is boring,

which it is not.

It is totally
where the action is.

We could use some testosterone
in this unit, though.

I'll tell you that.

So why did you
get into nursing?

What did you do before?

It's a long story.

Ah, yak yak yak yak yak.

I talk too much.

Nuh-uh. No no.

Me and my husband--
It takes a little getting used to.

I mean, I cried like every day on
the way home from work

my first two months.

For what?

I don't know.

'Cause I take my job
really seriously.

You know.

I mean,
maybe I care too much.

'Cause there's nothing
more important to me

than taking care
of these women here.

You know, these elderly women
who are alone

and have no one else
and are entrusted to my care.

And...

We work just as hard
as anyone in that hospital over there.

Maybe even
10 times as hard.

You know, I've almost
been fired twice

for cleanliness
infractions.

See? We got up here
pretty fast.

Mm-hmm.
Hmm? I told you.

It's the little
back elevator.

It's my little secret.

I am going to park you
right here, okay?

Be right back.
This is patient Nelson, Judy.

Birth date: 4-13-34.

And Judy is
looking fine to me.

What is she doing here,
Antoine?

I don't have any beds.

Beverly saw that
room 106 was open.

She told me to bring her up here.
Oh no no no no no.

No, big miscommunication.
What?

106 is not-- it's not open.
It's for Dr. James.

But I was told
to bring her up to 106,

so you ladies gotta get
your shit together.

Hi, Judy. I'm Dawn,

and we are gonna
work this out.

Everything's gonna be
just fine, okay?

These are beautiful.

You need to take these
off the floor right now. What?

We can't have
these here anymore.

Patients try to eat them.
106 is ready.

Thank you.
Oh, great.

No no, not great for you.
No, it is taken.

Dawn?

Is my room ready?

Um, yes.

But apparently,
this patient is taking 106.

Okay, that's fine.
But my patient is just out of recovery

and has a very time-sensitive
questionnaire to go over.

So why don't settle
him in the room,

and then you can situate her in 106?
No no no, your room is 106.

Well, that's impossible.
Why does she need a private room?

I don't know. Jenna. I hear
you've been very busy.

Yeah yeah, it's a holiday
and I like to keep busy

when everybody else
is having a day off.

Yeah. Well,
to answer your question,

she has to go
into the private

because we're
monitoring her heart.

Yeah, but I specifically
requested the bed.

She came into the hospital
for surgery

and had a stroke
on the operating table.

Her heart hasn't stabilized,

so she's going
into that room.

No.
So we should just take her then?

No-- well, no no.
Go ahead.

Beverly.
No no no, Beverly.

No, Beverly, no.
You can monitor her heart...
Whoa! Whoa!

from the hospital, Beverly.

That's my bed. You're not
taking my bed, darn it.

You do not own
this floor, Jenna.

So you don't get
to waltz in here

and do your studies for drug companies
or turd companies or whatever.

Well, it's really
none of your business

how many studies I do

or what I do
my resear...

What happened
to the feces?

I flushed it down the toilet.
You flushed it down--

She flushed it
at my instruction.

Flushed away an important
lump of information.

Jenna, please, are you finished?
No, I'm not finished.

Then let's just move this
right on off my floor.

Do you have any idea what
the Bristol Stool Chart is?

No, ma'am, I do not.

Okay, I'm attempting to expand
the Bristol Stool Chart

from seven
to an exhaustive...

16.
...16 different types of patient feces.

This is
the 21st fucking century.

Does anyone here
actually believe

that there are still only
seven categories of stool?

Whoa, okay.
I was told to flush it,

so I flushed it--
Well, and I need to stress

that this work is
important to me

and to the prestige
of this whole medical center.

And if I say I need
a stool sample

put in a specimen cup,
sent to the lab--

Beverly told me to flush it.
Dawn told me to flush it.

I don't care who said what!

I'm telling you to...

Save your shit.

Yes, if you need
to say it like that.

I got it.
I understand.

Thank you.
From now on, I will do that.

I will even save
my shit for you.

- All right, well, that's lovely.
- That is really lovely.

I am just sick of
you using me and Dawn

and this entire facility--
I'm fine with it.

Beverly, you are not
my supervising nurse

and you cannot speak to
a doctor at this hospital that way.

You are on staff
at this hospital,

and right now you
are in my facility.

Yes.
I run back and forth.

I run back and forth
from dusk to dawn--

40 of the last 48 hours--

and I could be at
a luau in Maui right now,

but no, I work tirelessly.
I work on the holidays.

And in exchange, maybe just a little
bit of respect.

You know why nobody's taking
this shitty job? Because it's a dead end.

Because nobody
with any self-respect

or their career
still on the rails

would ever want to work over here
in this dump.

So you know what?
I don't care!

I don't care!

I don't care

anymore!

Oh, Paul.
Jenna?

Oh, I thought you'd never get here.
Hi.

They won't even let me
go out for a coffee.

Can you believe that?

I'd ask you to sit down,

but this awful
claustrophobic office--

it's a good thing
it's only temporary.

I'd rather die.

Well, um...

as you might guess,
people are still talking

about that little dust up.

A bad joke at the end
of a long shift,

but those fireworks
are over, I swear.

Well, when we heard about it
over at the hospital,

there was obvious
concern for you, of course.

Paul, it was just
a little dramatic gesture.

Just... gallows humor.

Threatening everyone
in the ward with a scalpel?

I did not.
Such ridiculousness.

And if by chance it was construed
that I did--

you know me--
it was with tongue

very much in cheek.

Well, we reviewed
the tapes just to make sure,

and nobody saw
a screaming lunatic

threatening life and limb.

That's so good to hear.

You're my only ally on
the whole committee, Paul.

Oh.

You might have put the scalpel back in
your pocket in a more direct fashion.

Yes.
That I could have done.

But really,

what we saw was...

just a sad, lonely, exhausted woman at
the end of her rope...

Thank you.
...on a neglected ward

in desperate need
of full-time supervision.

Oh, Paul.
The equipment over here

is the--
and worst nurses in the world.

A ward that nobody knows
as well as she does.

What are you saying?

Me, here?

Yeah.

Full-time?
Yes.

No.
Full-time.

Oh-- oh no. No, Paul.

No, the board would
never ask that of me.

That's not fair.

It's all
the Beverly woman.

Paul, the way
she talks to me--

and I've heard her speak
the same way to you, too. Jenna.

Help me to help you.

All right?

There's no reason we can't
kill two birds with one stone.

We both only want
what's best for Mount Palms.

How you doing over there?

I'm all done, honey.

Okay.

Hey.
How about a piece of cake?

I can't get Sandy,
so what the heck.

Why don't we celebrate?
It's still the Fourth

and still your first day.

Okay.

Let me just get finished
with this first.

Can you stand?

I can, but I get dizzy.

Okay. Put your hand
on the rail,

hold on right here

and let's pull
yourself up.

Okay.
There we go.

Okay.
Bend over.

Lean forward
just a little bit.

Okay.
Clean as a whistle

and ready for bed.

Honey,

can you help me
find my purse?

I need my keys.

I need to go
to the office.

Yes, ma'am.

Let's get you
to the office.

There we go.

All right, Miss Birdy.

Oh God.

Mm.

Sandy, hi.

Hello.
Hello.

Bye, ladies.

Thank you so much
for coming in.

I got your message.

Yeah, I wanted to talk to you
about your sister.

Would you like to sit down?

No.
Beverly?

Beverly.
Oh God, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.

That crazy white bitch
had my ass transferred out of here.

What?

To where?

The hormone center.

Sorry.

Anyway, you've been
a great friend.

Good nurse.
Bye. Just--
Beverly. Beverly.

Beverly.

I'm so sorry.

So sorry.
It's okay.

Um...

I wanted to tell you
that your sister Lilian

passed away this morning.

She's dead?

Would you like to see her?

Or hold her?

I can make arrangements.

Thank you.

Okay.
That would be good.

Okay, I have a partially
filled out death certificate

that you need to take
to the funeral home.

Do you have
a funeral home in mind?

No.

I didn't think it was
gonna happen so fast.

My baby sister.

I was with her
when she died.

You were?
Mm-hmm.

I was holding her hand.

Did she ask about me?

Yes.

She did. She...

said she loved you
very much.

Sandy, I'm--
I'm Didi.

Can I get you anything?
You want a glass of water?

Would you like
some water?

Yes.
Water would be nice.

Thank you.
No problem.

Thanks so much, Didi.

♪ Fill your heart
with love today ♪

♪ Don't play the game of time ♪

♪ Things that happened
in the past ♪

♪ Only happened
in your mind ♪

♪ Only in your mind ♪

♪ Ohh ♪

♪ Forget your mind ♪

♪ And you'll be free ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Oh, happiness is happening ♪

♪ Dragons have been bled ♪

♪ Gentleness is everywhere ♪

♪ And fear
is just in your head ♪

♪ Only in your head ♪

♪ Fear is in your head,
only in your head ♪

♪ So forget your head ♪

♪ And you'll be free ♪

♪ Yeah, the writing
was on the wall ♪

♪ Free, yeah ♪

♪ And can know it all
if you choose ♪

♪ Just remember
lovers never lose ♪

♪ 'Cause they are free, yeah. ♪