This morning we went to the Ministry of Health, and talked to the current deputy of health. We had about an hour lecture about the focus the government has on health. The conversation Daniel led talked about the goals the ministry is focusing on. There is a big push for primary care providers, new technology, better medical records, and shortening the wait times in the city. The really interesting part was he was talking about the City of Buenos Aires, which in comparison to the rest of the country is completely blowing their technology and care out of the water. Citizens in rural communities have no healthcare coverage, because there is no health care facility near.
Later on, we drove to meet Louis Scervino, who works for the social security system. As we were driving there, we drove by a hospital that had a line all the way down the block, waiting for dental care. I pointed this out to Dr. Novick, and he then was talking to me about how that wait time is just here in the city. Trying to imagine if you lived an hour away and there isn’t even a hospital to go to. This led the conversation to talking about how people are talking a full work day out to go to a hospital for a problem, this then leads to people not going to work, and this ‘relaxed’ mentality, as Dr. Novick describes, of society of people not going to work is harmful. It creates a cycle that becomes even harder to break as time goes on.
This whole problem leads to why there is organized labor unions. People in labor unions want health insurance to get private health care, or their own hospital to get care faster. People that are the bosses of those people want the healthcare for their employees to keep working. Unions are important because they lead the ‘little guy’ to have a louder voice. It is used as a tool to band people together to create more power. These labor unions have been used to create insurance plans and workers compensation if they are ever hurt or a legal problem arises. Now, these labor unions run the country. If all unions went on strike because Argentina wanted to get rid of them there would be no one working, and everything would collapse. Having unions is such an essential part of the Argentinian culture because it leads people to pool together to become stronger.
After, we went on a city tour and covered a lot of ground. I was super glad to see more of the city. Looking at leather goods, all the art, and learning from the tour guide. I knew that the italian population was prominent in argentina, but I didn’t realize how open arms the country is to immigrants, as the tour guide was explaining. It is the melting pot of South America!
