Five days into the trip that is almost halfway. I cannot even truly fathom how fast this trip is going. The agenda from today was to visit a rural neighborhood part of a province called La Matanzas. When you stop by an acquaintance’s house, you never stay for a short period but a long one. Applying the same principle to la Matanzas, we visited Paroissen public hospitals and the public university of LA Matanzas.
We toured the Paroissen hospitals first, striking me with cold chills on the main floor. However, two floors were built underground while constructing the hospital to avoid being a target during the war. As I walked around, I noticed so many halls and doors and would have most likely gotten lost if I had been alone. The hospital consists of 500 beds plus, depending on the demand of patients at that time. They were gracious of us to let peek into the ICU floor. I noticed that many patients were in a room with about six people. That is not a norm we see at home in the United States.
The question at stake is equity of health care within the hospital system. They are treating the patients no matter the cost promoting equity with the minimum tools they have. But unfortunately, many patients cannot afford to pay for private insurance or are not considered a part of Obras Sociales.
The hospital aims to give the “unprivileged” the same tools as the “Privileged” to achieve the health care they deserve. Not discrediting the hospital’s capability, but some things made me have some questions, like the cats roaming the hospital (The patient’s pets). How sanitary is that for a hospital setting? Compared with the Public Hospitals Fernandez, LA Mantaza Hospitals need more quality technology, building codes, and perhaps sanitation problems. A positive Que for the provincial hospitals is the feeling of safety because of the workers compared to Hospital Fernandez. Overall, the hospital Impedes Equity. A question to remember is, “Would you rather be in a hospital you feel safe in or one with pretentious technology with doctors who possess the same education”?
Following the hospital, we went to the Universidad de la Matanza. Enrolled are primarily first-generation students. As a group, we walked around the campus, being shown the classroom and the facilities for specific majors. For example, the nurse has simulation rooms like the University of Pittsburgh, just a less dolled-up version. Since the school is public, they find ways to make it cost effective, such as having the tech majors make 3D models for the nurse’s students to learn based on academic reasons. While also benefits to them learning how to work the 3D Printer. The enrolled population at the school is about 60,000 students. Compared to Pitts, it is triple the size, with a smaller student learning space. Due to the public universe, especially having many underserved students attend to receive an education, I believe they promote equity. They allow the community who may be injured while racing someone in perfect condition by Giving them the ability to be treated (Knowledge) to have the same chance as when they run as the person in good shape (receiving a good job). To continue the goal of achieving equity, some things need to change when it comes to education for long-term success.
Overall, I enjoyed today very much from a nurse’s perspective. The employees at the hospitals answer so many questions when it comes to central oxygen reservoirs and how they work as a team. Though at the university, some students did stare curiously. The reason is that our group spoke English.
