Today was an amazing day in Bilbao! We started off with an amazing tour of Hospital Basurto. The hospital was so cool, as it had several different buildings for each department. Each building has crosses on the roof to signify it is a hospital during war. The staff gave an encapsulating presentation about the healthcare system in Spain! I didn’t know that it had 17 autonomous communities, each with their own healthcare system. Also, health records are kept in a digital system, so anywhere you need medical care, your doctors and nurses can access your background!
We started our tour in the NICU unit. Seeing the technology that is capable of keeping those babies alive was so intriguing, especially since everything has to be on a smaller scale. Then, we went to see the labor and delivery building. In the nursing area, they had screens where you could see the vitals of all patients, which I thought was so interesting! Next, we took a tour of the engineering area of the building, which is currently being renovated. We got to learn about the air purification, electricity, and water filtration systems, and how much work actually goes into keeping a hospital running. In fact, during the Spain blackout last year, the backup generator kept the hospital running so that no one even noticed the power was out! It was so cool to see all of the technology that keeps the buildings running!
Next, we went to the lab where they process all of the tests and potential viruses. They had a negative pressure room for the especially infectious samples which was interesting. Then, we had a quick coffee and snack break before our next stop in the pediatric ER. We actually got to watch the vitals of a critical care patient go from dangerous to safe! Finally, we got to tour the old ICU, which was very nice and had a lot of natural light. It has a lot of technology still in tact so it could be up and running again in two hours if needed. The hospital tour was so fascinating!
Next, we went to the Guggenheim museum, which was so interesting! I loved the wire exhibit! It reminded me of the wires in front of a building in Carnegie! They also had a really interesting sound exhibit, where you could walk through large structures that changed your echo based on its shape. Even though it was pouring, I had so much fun on the Bilbao day!
