Today we traveled across the River Tigre by boat to visit a public clinic, Rio Capitan, that looks after the health of 14000 people. Despite it being small, it has a system that allows them to utilize their space more efficiently. Even though it has only one ambulance, which is also a boat, they use it when it is necessary. They have people call the clinic when they need help, and the clinic judges whether it the patient needs imminent care or can wait. Since they have no waiting rooms, the clinic has to manage the space more carefully than in a large hospital. This process is apart of a larger movement in Argentina to provide primary care rather than service at hospitals. The movement aims to reduce waiting times, be more efficient in care and assess who needs urgent care.

We also visited the Hospital de San Isidro, a public hospital, to see the difference between a clinic and hospital in the public system. The hospital was much bigger, about the size of a hospital in the United States, and thus had more specialized units to perform urgent care. While it was larger, hospitals have a difficult time staffing, as the qualified nurses and doctors opt for a job in the private system. Only 30% of nurses in this hospital had a degree in medicine/nursing, far lower than the private system. Since they cannot pay as much, workers leave for higher-paying positions elsewhere, making it more crucial for the public system to keep only the people who need urgent care. As the country shifts towards providing primary care first, it will become faster and more cost effective for the public system, ensuring quality hospitals where the staff can focus on harder cases.