It's July 4th at the Billy Barnes Extended Care unit of Mt. Palms Hospital in Long Beach, CA. On her first day of work, Nurse Didi Ortley discovers feces on a lounge chair, and is torn between the conflicting orders of unit veteran Nurse Dawn Forchette (who wants to file an incident report before removing it), temporary Medical Director Dr. Jenna James (who is in need of stool samples for her medical study), and Supervising Nurse Beverly Raymes (who has issues with floor cleanliness and wants the seat sterilized). In a heated argument with Beverly, Dr. James has a public meltdown, and ends up being permanently assigned to this dead-end job. Meanwhile, the staff tries to determine the identity of an Asian woman found wandering on a highway, and debate what to do with a deceased patient's birthday cake.

In the wake of Beverly's departure, a new (male) Supervising Nurse, Patsy De La Serda, joins the Billy Barnes staff with a customer-centric agenda he's convinced will improve ward efficiency. Patsy soon learns that managing patients--especially a highly uncooperative, un-medicated one named Varla--isn't necessarily improved through customer-service metrics. On the other end of the spectrum, a more docile patient named Donna wins DiDi's affection and displays impressive karaoke skills.

DiDi ends up in conflict resolution after Patsy files a grievance against her for inappropriate remarks. Dawn learns that intimacy with a co-worker is no guarantee of evaluation immunity. Dr. James and Patsy go head-to-head when she decides to skip the 'Make Someone Happy' orientation to attend a Cleveland medical convention. A patient named Birdy sends shock waves through the ward when a gentleman caller, Leonard, arrives with a romantic agenda. Patsy's announces a ward-wide deep cleaning.

Dr. James decides to implement a geriatric exercise program in the ward, upsetting Patsy, whose "Make Someone Happy" initiative now includes a live pianist and a fountain. DiDi discloses Patsy's relationship with Dawn to her union rep as proof her homophobic comment wasn't serious. A homeless woman, and her accompanying stench, is suspiciously dumped in the ward, prompting a staff investigation. Dawn wins the grand prize in Dr. James' charity raffle. Dr. James considers relocating after learning she must re-apply for a job she never wanted in the first place.

DiDi's serene evening shift in the ward is turned upside down after the arrival of a new patient and several unwelcome, inebriated visitors. Stopping by after a (lamentable) dinner party, Dr. James attends to her drunken husband Richard's ingrown toenail while dreaming of a Cleveland fresh start; a woozy Dawn looks for stopgap comforts in the lounge after an unsettling evening with Patsy; and an elderly Swedish tourist shows off her gymnastic chops while complaining about her ruined vacation.

Season One Finale. Phyllis (Molly Shannon), the daughter of an ailing patient, gets the travel runaround as her mother's condition worsens, improves, and worsens again. After criticizing a proposal to add men to the ward, Jenna tries to leverage her Cleveland opportunity into concessions from Dr. Stickley. Patsy bonds with fellow downtrodden male nurses while assessing his relationship with Dawn. DiDi's patience wears thin after a debt remains unpaid. The staff points fingers at each other after an equipment malfunction injures an irascible patient.