I can finally check taking a boat trip off my bucket list! Today we took a boat trip along the river Capitan Tigre to visit a clinic in the town of Tigre. As the boat sped down the river, we saw a lot of young children boarding another boat. Kids take big “bus”boats to get to school. Because the main transportation is boat and not everyone has one, this is a great option to have to assure children can attend school. Along with us were two nurses- Eugenia and Emilse, who served as our tour guides today. They told us about the history of Tigre and discussed how the healthcare clinic operates.

This is a picture of the “bus” boat, and the other picture was the house of the man who opened the first school along the river.

When we arrived at the clinic, we got off the boat and a few dogs approached us. They were so sweet and may have been pets of the doctors or patients at the clinic. We went inside the small house-turned-clinic. There were a few rooms to house patients and an administration room. This clinic was the only primary care option in the area, and received around 600 patients each month! It’s so interesting and different to me to see healthcare in such a remote location with water surrounding it.

This is a sign outside of the clinic

Having access to primary care is essential, especially in remote areas without large hospitals. Primary care is equipped with professionals with experience in many different specialties in health, which makes it convenient to have a “one stop shop” to have health needs facilitated. Doctors and nurses at clinics work in shifts to ensure there is always someone available if an illness or emergency arises. The group of healthcare workers each had different experiences and specialties which helped strengthen the clinic and making it a trustworthy place to receive care. Although this clinic is equipped to provide healthcare to the people of Tigre, there are several challenges of doing this on a daily basis. One major issue is the geography. Because of many citizens living along the river, they are very farm from continental land. This makes it difficult for the clinic to receive medicine and supplies. A nurse informed us they only get two shipments containing medication each month. Also, water levels contribute to this problem. When the water is low, it’s hard for the ambulance boat to get to patients, and especially difficult to pull up to docks to help each patient. On the contrary, high water levels make it dangerous to get into the boat and lead to stronger currents. Another challenge mentioned during our visit was finding patients to treat. Because of the remoteness of the area, it was hard to reach people, especially those who live in smaller communities on the interior of Tigre. In an attempt to resolve this challenge, nurses and doctors have a special map with locations marked of these communities and would go out and offer help to people if it was needed. This shows the importance of primary care systems because it shows the attempt at accessing everyone. The clinic cares about people and wants to help those in need, and puts forth the time and resources to get to those who cannot get to them. This is an important aspect of overall healthcare systems because of the accessibility and affordability to everyone. Having primary healthcare is a great way for people to seek medical help, especially when living far from a hospital.

After the clinic visit, we had lunch at Vivanco. I had a delicious steak with fries, and a delicious ice cream dessert to end the meal. We then went to some local shops where I bought some souvenirs for myself and my family. Today was an interesting day!