Beautiful building and tree in Buenos Aires.
Today was another great day in Argentina, but this one was extra special because I got to have helado (ice-cream), which is my favorite. This morning our bus was slightly delayed, but this meant I got to enjoy the breakfast for longer. I think it is going to take the entire two weeks until I eat everything I want to try. I have really been enjoying the jam, especially the peach. I add it to various cheeses and bread. We took a taxi to Sanitario de los Arcos, the private hospital we have been visiting. The taxi driver was very friendly and even pieced together my broken Spanish. We began our academic day by hearing from Dr. Josefina Medrano, the past Minister of Health Province of Salta during the COVID-19 pandemic. This woman had an interesting perspective as she went into office in December, 2019, just a few months before the worldwide pandemic hit. Salta is a northern province of Argentina and has many natural barriers from landfills within the area. 65% of the province utilizes solely the public sector, which is much more than Buenos Aires. The other 35% is mainly covered by PAMI or provincial Obras Sociales. Salta also had a deficit in the number of hospital beds before the pandemic, so that problem was further amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Something I found interesting was the power that the Minister of Health in provinces hold. Dr. Josefina Medrano stated that she had the ability to shut down hospitals or aspects of society when trying to contain COVID.
Hospital Fernandez, a large public hospital in Buenos Aires.
Elise, Dr. Ignacio J. Previgliano, and me!
Next, we went to Hospital Fernadez, the biggest public hospital in Buenos Aires. It was a little different from the private hospital, but its outcomes are very impressive. We received a lecture from Dr. Ignacio J. Previgliano, the director of Hospital Fernandez. He really emphasized the importance of patient care and how it impacted hospital outcomes. We learned about how the public hospital combated the pandemic and adjustments they had to make. Ventilators were provided to Hospital Fernandez by the National Ministry of Health and City Ministry of Health. Dr. Ignacio J. Previgliano gave us a tour of the hospital and showed us the ICU, emergency room, and other patient floors.
Cemetery in Recoleta.
Afterwards, we returned to IES for salads and cooked potatoes for lunch. Another delicious meal from IES. After we were fueled up, we began our walking tour of Recoleta, a neighborhood near the hotel. We toured the very famous cemetery in Recoleta and saw Eva Perón’s grave. It was very interesting and our tour guide was so helpful.
Grave in the Recoleta cemetery.
Glass ceiling in the Recoleta cemetery.
Some of us decided to stay in Recoleta and enjoyed some helado. We then walked back to the hotel and decided to try McDonald’s in Argentina. I was curious to see if the food would be very different, but overall it was similar. The burgers did have a double patty option and there were french fries with bacon and sauce. Shout-out to Salma for letting me try some of hers. Another great day in the books. I look forward to doing more tomorrow!!
Me and my helado!! Muy delicioso!