'New Amsterdam' Season 2 Episode 11: Bloom's compassion takes over, gives inheritance for elderly man's food woes
Contains spoilers for 'New Amsterdam' Season 2 Episode 11 'Hiding Behind My Smile'
There's a lot that our heroes in scrubs go through each week on 'New Amsterdam' and somehow, against all odds, manage to come out on top. It takes a toll on them, sure, but they keep their singular goal in mind - helping those in need.
Now, in an exemplary display of selflessness, Dr. Lauren Bloom, the head of the Emergency Department has decided to give away her entire inheritance money to help senior patients get meals.
Bloom meets a senior patient this week, who comes in with a variety of ailments - he's got pain through almost his entire body and the doctor tries her best to retain everything. She concludes that he has a low thyroid but later finds out about the wound in his leg, that doesn't heal. She is then faced with a heartbreaking truth - the man was starving, even though he looked alright.
The old man tells her that he was selling off his food coupons for other expenses because he had no money after paying the rent and had been living off of fast food because it's cheap. "I didn't know I was hurting myself," he tells her. When asked about going to a shelter for three meals a day, he gets angry and says "I won't steal food from people who need them!" Little does he realize, he needs it too. Bloom sees this and then tells him about the senior meal plan to which he replies, "I've been on the waitlist since June...2016." Visibly upset, she finds out that the list of elders in need of food was so high, the waits were impossible.
"How much would it take to get him to the service?" she asks a woman on the phone, who asks Bloom if she was offering a bribe. "No," says Bloom explaining that she genuinely wanted to know. "That's a large number," informs the lady as Bloom says, "Try me." She gets off the call and tells her patient his slot has miraculously opened up. At the beginning of the episode, Bloom talks about her inheritance, calling it large but "tainted with blood".
Touched? Fans were too. "Lauren bloom about to give away her entire inheritance to meals for seniors what a GOOD PERSON I LOVE HER," said one fan. Another tweeted, "Lauren you’re doing amazing, sweetie!" A third one tweeted, "LAUREN BLOOM WE LOVE YOU!!!!"
Catch 'New Amsterdam' on Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on NBC.