Bleed Out
AN HBO DOCUMENTARY FILM
Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves the mother of filmmaker and comedian Steve Burrows in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a personal video diary becomes a citizen’s investigation into the state of American health care.
After a routine operation leaves his mother in a coma, comedic director Steve Burrows starts a video diary that becomes a citizen’s investigation into the future of American health care. Using undercover footage, court testimony and several years of interviews, Bleed Out dives deep into the flawed healthcare system.
The film is a harrowing, eye-opening account of the 10 years that follow — an endless cycle of medical bills, emergency-room visits and insurance-company red tape. Part medical mystery and legal thriller, part investigative journey and meditation on family, this is a revealing, cautionary tale.
DIRECTED BY: STEVE BURROWS
PRODUCED BY: ILAN ARBOLEDA, TOM DONAHUE, STEVE BURROWS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: STEVE EDWARDS, SHEILA NEVINS, NANCY ABRAHAM, DAN COGAN, GERALYN DREYFOUS, JENNY RASKIN
COPRODUCERS: JESSICYA MATERANO, MARGO BURROWS
Reviews & Press
Brightened by rueful humor, this Kafkaesque nightmare is required viewing.
The film is a deep dark dive into the heart of America’s health care system.
Incredibly powerful and exceptionally well done. Courageous.
Critics’s pick….Comedy director Steve Burrows’ sobering investigative documentary.
BLEED OUT is a dramatic, vital story everyone will relate to. Personal and universal.
HBO’s BLEED OUT is brutal, unmissable viewing.
Absolutely blown away… an amazing story, amazingly well told.
A powerful clarion call for reform, accountability and transparency in America.
Impact
Advocate Aurora Health Chief Nursing Officer Mary Beth Kingston speaks at a panel following a screening of Bleed Out. (Photo: Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
More than a decade after Steve Burrows' mother suffered life-altering brain damage following a routine surgery, the Hollywood director said he feels that "the door has opened a crack" into the hospital system where she was treated.
After the movie began streaming late last year, Burrows received a handwritten letter from then-co-CEO of Advocate Aurora Health Nick Turkal that acknowledged poor communication from his company. The letter from Turkal came before the company merged into Advocate Aurora Health in 2018. Turkal left the company last summer.