Pittsburgh organizations "very proud" of features on "The Pitt"
The medical drama "The Pitt" has certainly put a lot of eyes on Pittsburgh, and while the stories are fiction, the show highlights some very real things about the city.
While set at the imaginary Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, producers have made it clear they want their stories to be surrounded by real life.
In season 2, a patient doesn't have health insurance but is in critical need of care. In the episode, a doctor refers him to the North Side Christian Health Center. Bethany Blackburn is the CEO of this very real place.
"I would say that it was very validating to hear them refer a patient who has a lot of anxiety about his health care and the cost of it," said Bethany Blackburn, the CEO of the North Side Christian Health Center. "To have 'The Pitt' refer the patient to North Side Christian Health Center, we are here for those folks who feel as though they have no other place to get health care."
Blackburn said that just last year, she had a Zoom call with writers and producers of the Pitt and Noah Wyle himself was on that call, very curious about the organization and all that they have to offer everyone in Pittsburgh.
Longtime local group Pittsburgh Action Against Rape was also showcased in the same episode. In the show, nurses tend to a character who's been the victim of a sexual assault. But scripted was a very real portrayal of what happens when an advocate from PAAR is called to help the woman. The audience is able to see a realistic interaction.
"I think you really have to shout out the production of that to make sure that they're being honest and realistic about the portrayal and not doing, which is really easy to do, is to sensationalize everything and to make it like sort of gotcha moments, so I think that is something to be very proud of, not only on our end but on their end," said William McGinnis, PAAR's director of education.
