WHAT IS AN ESCAPE FIRE?
es•cape fire: noun
1. A swath of grassland or forest intentionally ignited in order to provide shelter from an oncoming blaze. 2. An improvised, effective solution to a crisis that cannot be solved using traditional approaches.
This Friday the new documentary called Escape Fire will open nation-wide and On Demand in homes. It looks at the complicated — and frustrating — aspects of our badly broken health care system, and what steps are needed to repair it. The filmmakers show that the cost and access battles being fought don’t address the root of the problem: we have a disease-care system, not a health care system.
Importantly, the film looks for attainable solutions, including the Health Center Movement and similar efforts to introduce “high-touch, low-cost methods of prevention and healing into our high-tech, costly system.” Early reviews say it’s comparable to “An Inconvenient Truth for the health care debate.”
James Knickman, President & CEO of the New York State Health Foundation, wrote a review of the film for Huffington Post, and summed up the role of Community Health Centers as a central part the film:
For me, one of the most compelling threads of the film tells the story of a primary care physician working at a community health center in the Pacific Northwest. The film shows her caring for patients who are sick, but who also struggle with non-medical conditions that get in the way of their good health: they may work two or three jobs; they don’t have access to healthy, affordable foods; they may not be able to afford medications; they often fight depression, which is a byproduct of their illnesses and the stresses of having a low income.
The film will be in select theaters around the country, available On Demand on many cable and satellite providers, or for download on iTunes starting Friday, October 5th. It was produced and directed by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke.