Jay Baruch

Emergency physician

As I wander the house one last time, I breathe in all that’s missing.

Gone are the anger and frustration, the old grievances and petty fights that ultimately pushed us apart. In their place is regret — regret for the visits I didn’t make and the relationship I wanted to have, but couldn’t. 

In my parents’ empty house, I finally found the space to grieve

An empty home. (Getty Images)

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[W]e’ve discovered the COVID-19 clock is happy to keep running as long as we, a society of players, prove unable or unwilling to make the simple plays.

I understand the societal urge to just run off the field and put this all behind us. But the inning isn’t over. Not yet anyway.

'The Inning Isn't Over': On Baseball And The Pandemic

A worker spray-paints "Opening Day" behind home plate at Fenway Park in Boston on March 30, 2021.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Fenway Park Readies For Opening Day

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A medical case shouldn’t be confused with a patient’s story. 

I can’t tell whether she wants to cry or throw a left hook.

The Patient Who Said She Wanted Nothing

In this Jan. 24, 2014 photo, a doctor is silhouetted against a glass window while leaving an exam room after visiting a patient at Grady Memorial Hospital, in Atlanta. (David Goldman/AP)

Health Overhaul Hospital Bailouts

commentary

I reread “Misery” often -- shorter than most articles in medical journals, it’s arguably more clinically significant.

Loneliness counts as a growing public health problem.

When Loneliness Is An Emergency

An emergency physician on what happens when a patient's anguish exceeds his capacity to help. (Brandon Holmes/Unsplash)

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As an emergency physician, I thought I’d know whether we were acting too soon or holding on too long, but I was lost.

Balancing his suffering with our hope was disorienting.



Loving An Old Dog — And Knowing When To Let Him Go 

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, writes Jay Baruch, but can an old dog teach its owners something new about being human? (Multa Media/Unsplash)

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I worry that people are so entrenched in their positions and beliefs that nobody is listening.

Jay Baruch

Recently published

In my parents’ empty house, I finally found the space to grieve

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'The Inning Isn't Over': On Baseball And The Pandemic

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The Patient Who Said She Wanted Nothing

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When Loneliness Is An Emergency

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Loving An Old Dog — And Knowing When To Let Him Go

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To Talk About Guns, Let’s Start With A Grieving Mother’s Silence

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