Today we went to the Universidada Nacionla de La Matanza and the Proissien Hospital and the UNLaM facilities, this is one of the largest and most populated municipalities in Buenos Aires Province. It was really interesting because even though the population is about the same as Buenos Aires, the areas felt totally difference between economic and healthcare challenges. There are much higher levels of poverty and security concerns which creates a lot of pressure on the public healthcare system.
One interesting thing was how much funding and resources can vary depending on the municipality. Unlike places such as San Isidro, which is a wealthier area and receives more financial support, La Matanza relies mainly provincial funding. Provincial funding has to be spread out about fifty hospitals, this creates many challenges through providing staff, equipment, and resources. It was intresting seeings how location and wealth of an area can directly impact the healthcare available to the people living there.
The hospital was also so much more crowded and less modern compared to other hospitals we have seen. They told us that staffing is a challenge because many nurses and doctors work at that hospital and in private places of practice in Buenos Aires, where there are more opportunities and better pay. Even throughout all of the challenges, it was apparent that the healthcare workers were still working extremely hard to care for such a large population. Throughout the hospital there were many attention grabbing things, like we saw a cat just roaming around, which was surprising to see in a hospital setting. There were also many loose wires, broken windows, and holes in the wall, which could potentially be a safety concern. Even at one point in the hospital tour, we went into a morgue and saw bodies, which was something completely unexpected.
We later went through Universisdad Nacional de La Matanza. We got to learn more about their nursing program and even got to tour and watch them in action trough the simulation lab. One thing I learned talking to one of the nursing students is that education is still free, even in lower income areas. This was so cool to learn and then we got to tell her about how college finances work in the USA. It was awesome to see how education still remains accessible to many students despite the financial differences between municipalities. Even though the hospital being less modern, the classrooms and labs of the college were still pretty advanced, which was cool to see.
Today really showed me how different life can look depending on where someone lives, even within the same province. The differences between San Isidro and La Matanza were especially noticeable through the overall appearance, resources, and challenges each community faces.