ABOUT

A testament to the strength of the human spirit.

With exclusive access inside one of New York’s hardest hit hospital systems during the terrifying first four months of the pandemic, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning director Matthew Heineman’s The First Wave spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicenter of COVID-19 as they come together to fight one of the greatest threats the world has ever encountered. Leaving a devastating trail of death and despair, this once-in-a-century pandemic changed the very fabric of our daily lives and exposed long-standing inequities in our society. Employing his signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, Heineman embeds with a group of doctors, nurses and patients on the frontlines as they all desperately try to navigate the crisis. With each distinct storyline serving as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, The First Wave is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

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Impact

Impact

The campaign supported passage of the first-of-its-kind law supporting the healthcare workforce, secured major coverage for the film and impact partners – including in Fortune and with a special ABC collaboration – and helped dozens of state medical boards to reform licensure applications. Dr. Dougé, a featured subject of the film, joined the Board of the Lorna Breen Foundation and continues to work with them to drive awareness, funding, and policy change for healthcare workers.

The film won 3 News and Documentary Emmy® Awards in 2022, including Best Documentary.

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Did you know?

3X

As of September 2021, Black and Latinx people are almost 3x more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die of COVID than white people.

20%

Frontline health workers are disproportionately low-income women and people of color. Their wages are so low that nearly 20% of them live in poverty.

TAKE ACTION

Take Action

Healthcare workers are human and they’re hurting. The COVID-19 pandemic has widened inequities in health and has left healthcare workers overworked, stressed out, and exhausted.

Let’s build a more equitable healthcare system that destigmatizes access to mental health support for healthcare workers.

It’s Time To Care For Those Who Care For Us

Healthcare workers are human and they’re hurting. The COVID-19 pandemic has widened inequities in health and has left healthcare workers overworked, stressed out, and exhausted.

Let’s build a more equitable healthcare system that destigmatizes access to mental health support for healthcare workers.

66%

As of September 2021, 66% of critical care nurses have considered leaving their jobs because of the pandemic.

2X

Physicians die by suicide at 2x the rate of the general population in the U.S.

Credits
Poster for the film The First Wave.
Director
Matthew Heineman
Producers
Jenna Millman, Leslie Norville, Matthew Heineman
Executive Producers
Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Carolyn Bernstein, Ryan Harrington, Maiken Baird, Alex Gibney, Leah Natasha Thomas, David Fialkow, Pagan Harelman, Joedan Okun
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