Cancer Patient-Turned-Doctor-Turned-Filmmaker Talks About What Led To CBS' 'Code Black'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The man behind the documentary film "Code Black" that later inspired the medical TV drama on CBS knows firsthand how art can imitate life.

"'Code Black' the TV show has a really impressive degree of authenticity," said Ryan McGarry, executive producer of CBS' "Code Black." "Our goal is to make you feel the intensity of what it feels like to be a doctor on your first day in a big hospital like this."

Growing up in Chicago, McGarry gravitated toward creativity, wanting to be a storyteller.

But at 19 while attending Penn State, the unimaginable happened.

"There was a moment in my life where everything sorta changed. I was a healthy collegiate-trained track and cross country runner, no medical problems my whole life, and then one day I started to be noticeably lapped basically in track races in college. And long story short, that led to a lymphoma diagnosis. I had Stage 4 cancer," he said.

McGarry fought the disease for two years and won, ultimately changing his path in life.

"I was still sort of in between filmmaking and medicine, and I think that that experience as a patient and being among physicians and nurses is what sort of what pushed me over the edge and I said, 'OK, I am not gonna abandon my creative ambition entirely but now I need to do this and go to med school,' " he said.

In 2008, McGarry became a visiting resident at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center and came up with a plan to shoot a documentary at one of the nation's largest government-run hospitals.

"When you are not just a medical student but a visiting medical student, it's probably one of the worst ideas I've ever had in my entire life. LA County has never allowed cameras in the place, period. They've just never have been open to this kind of filming and for good reason. I think that they understand that there is such a high concentration of amazing stories, but at the same time, these are real stories," he said.

For four years, McGarry filmed a documentary, "Code Black."

His goal was to give a voice to doctors and nurses tirelessly working with the sick. It debuted in 2013 to rave reviews at the Los Angeles Film Festival and became a hit with critics.

"Part of what I was after was the amazing commitment of these doctors and nurses who could probably make a lot more money somewhere else," he said. "You were working a job that is a lot easier somewhere else basically providing care to hundreds of thousands of people in LA County."

What came out of the documentary was a bigger conversation about the challenges of health care in America.

"By and large, I had no idea about just how overused emergency departments are and particularly how many people rely on them for even nonemergency cases," he said. "Part of what contributes to a code black is just an influx of hardworking Americans who probably even have health insurance but can't get the time off of work to go to their primary care doctor's office at 2 p.m. on a weekday."

After seeing the film, current "Code Black" executive producer Michael Seitzman took the documentary to executives at CBS, and they were hooked.

Keeping the film's core is at the heart of the television show that looks at the lives of dedicated medical professionals and the challenges they face at one of the nation's busiest hospitals.

"And I think it hopefully speaks to the larger group of not just doctors but nurses and other providers in this country who work very hard every day in emergency departments everywhere," he said.

McGarry still finds time to practice medicine. Every other weekend, he heads back to New York to treat patients.