We’ve officially been in Argentina for a whole week! This has been an incredible trip both academically and personally. We started the day with a meeting with Dr. Gabriel Novick, the head of Swiss Medical. During this meeting, he reviewed most of what we had discussed in prior lectures about the history of the Argentinian healthcare system and the implementations currently being made. This was extremely helpful in putting into perspective where all the hospitals we have visited so far fit into this system and what role they play in serving the diverse needs of the country. We also discussed the changes President Javier Milei has been making to Argentina’s Healthcare system. Essentially, as people are allowed to now directly invest in private companies for health insurance rather than going through the unions, many smaller unions are fizzling out of existence entirely. According to Dr. Novick, this is actually a positive thing as many of the smaller unions were taking too much money for themselves anyway instead of putting the funding towards the quality of care. Before, these unions created the illusion of higher quality coverage when in reality people would have been better off relying on the public sector. I am excited to see how this will continue to play out in their healthcare system and hope to see much more improvement for people who are struggling to receive quality care.
After our meeting, we took a bus to lunch at a restaurant directly connected to Museo Evita. This was a delicious meal covered by IES in which we received bread and blue cheese salads for an appetizer, a wide variety of entrée options (I got a Chicken and mushroom dish), and a dessert. After lunch, we went into the Museo Evita, a museum commemorating the life of Evita Perón, wife of the former Argentinian president Juan Perón (known for the political ideology called peronism). This was an interesting tour, and we learned a lot about her life and the incredible things she was able to accomplish before passing from ovarian cancer. Evita played a large role in the women’s rights movement in Argentina and was also a critical figure in establishing nursing schools and safe houses for women and children in need.
After touring the museum, we returned to the hotel and had the rest of the day to explore the shops and restaurants in the area. This was a more relaxed day, but it was still full of many great cultural and educational experiences. Tomorrow will be a lot more of the same! Adios amigos.
