The Chaplain & The Doctor

Betty Clark is an 80-year-old hospital chaplain and one of few African American women on staff at Highland Hospital, the trauma center in Oakland, California. Jessica Zitter is a white physician who has worked on the Palliative Care team with Betty for over a decade, caring for patients who are approaching the ends of their lives. Their relationship took years to develop, originally beset by racial tensions on the team and a professional hierarchy that siloes and divides. But over many years, their professional relationship blossoms into a deep and caring friendship which supports them both as they work to provide the best care possible— one patient at a time.