We had an early start to our tenth day in Argentina and walked back over to the Austral building to listen to a presentation by Dr. Medrano. She discussed with us how the province of Salta was affected and what actions were taken during COVID. It was interesting to hear about how countries other than the United States dealt with the pandemic. We then took a quick lunch break and then headed to Fernández Public Hospital, which I thought was a pretty nice public hospital. Dr. Previgliano gave us a lecture regarding the history of the hospital, how he handled the pandemic, and some impressive statistics the hospital holds. He was very proud of how he navigated COVID, as they went from 0 to 75 critical care beds and added a non-invasive ventilation area. One of the statistics he was happy to share was that they only have a 29% mortality of critical care patients, which he said was low. Our next stop was to Los Arcos Private Hospital, which is run by Swiss Medical. We got a guided tour through this hospital, and it was clearly high quality as everything was very nice, modern, and clean. The patient rooms seemed to be a pretty big size as well, which definitely helps to make patients comfortable during their stays. 

After visiting both Fernández Public Hospital and Los Arcos Private Hospital, I started to think more about the disparities we’ve been learning about, especially the social gradient within healthcare in Argentina, and how it compares to the United States. A big similarity that I see between the two is that individuals with higher socioeconomic status tend to receive faster, higher-quality, and more comfortable care, often in well-funded private institutions. In both countries, wealth can lead to better access to advanced technologies, shorter wait times, and more personalized treatment. On the other hand, a key difference between the two is the structure of the public systems. Argentina offers free public healthcare to all residents, regardless of income or employment, which works to reduce barriers to access. In contrast, the U.S. system relies heavily on insurance coverage, often tied to employment or income, which can leave many people uninsured or underinsured. So while Argentina offers free public care to all, both countries still struggle with inequities in quality and access.