Bleed Out

"Simultaneously timely and timeless." Since its HBO debut, BLEED OUT has received tremendous acclaim, highlighting its important cautionary tale and empowering call-to-action. "'BLEED OUT' is required viewing at a time when the future of health care looks dark indeed," noted Peter Keough of The Boston Globe. The New York Times declared BLEED OUT a "critic's pick," calling it a "sobering investigative documentary." Critical kudos from NPR to Reuters to MSNBC's Morning Joe, etc. continue to pour in, emphasizing the social injustice and failed policies of American Health Care devastatingly presented. Public reaction is overwhelming. Director Steve Burrows has personally received over 50,000+ emotional letters of support and solidarity from doctors, nurses, medical professionals, attorneys, patients and families across America. These sacred letters could make a stone cry - each one a film in itself. Screenings provoke standing ovations. Q & A's last longer than the film. Scores of hospital systems, elite universities, medical, nursing and law schools have made BLEED OUT part of their teaching curriculum - institutions like Virginia Mason, Georgetown University, UCSD Medical School, Cooper Medical School, University of Wisconsin Law School, Temple University, Covenant Health, Novant Health, MedStar Health, The New York Law School, etc. Esteemed non-profit healthcare organizations like The Leapfrog Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Mothers Against Medical Error, The Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety (AELPS), The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI), The National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), The SC Association for Healthcare Risk Management (SCAHRM) and The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) have forged partnerships with Burrows. The Global Neurosciences Institute (GNI) announced BLEED OUT as mandatory viewing. The film was awarded "Best Feature Documentary" as well as second place for "Best Medical & Health Reporting" by a blue-ribbon panel of distinguished journalists at the hallowed Los Angeles Press Club, proclaiming that "BLEED OUT is absolutely mind-blowing!" Based on the incredible response from millions of viewers, HBO nominated BLEED OUT for five Emmys and the Peabody for excellence in broadcasting. The film has an 81% approval rating on , 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, 96% on Amazon and 98% on Google. Due to the continuing social impact of BLEED OUT in the healthcare zeitgeist, HBO and Warner Bros renewed the film an unprecedented 4 times - now streaming exclusively on all HBO Max platforms through 2027! Viewers across the country spontaneously petitioned lawmakers to watch BLEED OUT, forcing the introduction of citizen-driven legislation to protect the rights of all patients - as well as repealing existing restrictive and injurious laws. This has led to screenings at State Capitals and on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. for members of The United States Congress. This, in turn, led to Burrows meeting President Joe Biden. Thousands of doctors, nurses and healthcare providers have personally apologized to Burrows for the horrific care his mother Judie Burrows received, professing that her story and BLEED OUT will forever change the way they practice medicine. After a Washington D.C. medical conference, an army of doctors and nurses took a stand at the Lincoln Memorial and started a movement that now bears the name of Burrows' Mom. #WeStandWithJudie. The film has struck a deep nerve. The sense of urgency - palpable. A crusade is born. In the wake of COVID-19, the tenets of accountability and transparency portrayed in BLEED OUT have proven even more relevant and vital as ever. In the middle of the pandemic, the film was acquired by London's Noah Media Group for worldwide distribution - including Israel, Finland, Sweden, Norway, French Canada, Argentina, Mexico and Taiwan, to name a few. Embracing its universality, distributors have translated the documentary into multiple languages. Sadly, Judie Burrows, the "Star" of BLEED OUT, lost her ferocious ten year battle to live on January 30, 2020, finally succumbing to her injuries. Her multitudes of fans were devastated. Directly after screening BLEED OUT, the Wisconsin State Medical Examiners Office requisitioned all medical records from the hospital where Judie Burrows was injured at and, in a rare rebuke, changed Judie's official cause of death from "natural causes" to "accidental" due to complications from a multitude of medical errors. Legislation in Wisconsin inspired by Judie and BLEED OUT began making its way into law, one bill which now officially bears her name..."Judie's Law." Other States are now using these bills as templates for their own patient safety legislation, including the game-changing "Black Box" bill. So moved by the tsunami of real world responses from the medical community to Judie's story, the preeminent Patient Safety Movement Foundation created an annual humanitarian award for excellence in service to patient safety named "The Judie Burrows Humanitarian Award". The first recipient was Judie's son, Steve Burrows. Previous PSMF Humanitarian Award winners include President Joe Biden, President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. The prestigious Washington D.C. based healthcare watchdog icon, The Leapfrog Group, went one step further, naming their newly minted National School For Patient Safety after Judie. "The Judie Burrows Education Institute" launched in 2022, blocks from the White House. The educational arm of Leapfrog, the JBEI will offer transformative programming that advances patient safety while empowering and accelerating real, measurable progress. Born a teacher, died a teacher, and now forever a teacher! Burrows was subsequently invited to co-founder the influential Patients for Patient Safety US (PFPS-US) - a network of patient safety activists, civil and government partners as well as healthcare entities aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) committed to making healthcare safe and respectful for patients everywhere in the United States. BLEED OUT continues its upward trajectory at some of the highest levels in American government. The former Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said, "The documentary is owed a huge debt of gratitude for shining a powerful light on the need for healthcare improvement... Judie's story will continue to inspire." The Deputy Director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Department of Health & Human Services stated, "It's hard to walk away from this film unchanged. BLEED OUT is incredibly powerful." After Burrows and BLEED OUT shared the stage with President Bill Clinton at the PSMF Summit, and with Captain Sully ('Miracle on the Hudson') Sullenberger at RLDatix, the World Health Organization (WHO) invited Burrows to screen the film for its 191 member countries in Geneva, Switzerland - as well as at The United Nations - saying "Judie's story and BLEED OUT are truly God sent", adding "the world needs to see this film! Steve and Margo Burrows are heroes." Because of the fervent outpouring to BLEED OUT from inside and outside the medical industrial complex, Burrows is currently developing a television series that is a singular, visceral exploration of all varieties of stories, from all points of view in healthcare, including the voices of the voiceless - essential, unforgettable stories that will compel, provoke, excite and entertain. BLEED OUT is a wake-up call-to-action for systemic medical reform. The truths uncovered are inspiring a state, national and international outcry to fix American Health Care by changing laws and making policy to improve safety for patients and caregivers alike. As Dr. David B. Mayer of The MedStar Institute for Quality and Safety unequivocally stated, "BLEED OUT is literally saving lives." How many films do that?