Today we visited a private university hospital and a public primary clinic in Pilar. At the Tomas Reggio Primary Health Center, we listened to a detailed history of the clinic from one of the sisters got a detailed tour of the building. There were multiple check-up rooms and designated rooms for pharmaceuticals, dental and OBGYN services. This public center focused on providing care to the neighborhood of Pilar, especially in specialties of pediatric and women’s health. The volunteers at this clinic informed us they were preparing for a mobile truck to come and provide care to people in the neighborhood. The truck has a pediatrician and a dentist who offer services without charge and ultimately help serve the community. 

Following our intriguing visit to the clinic, we walked next door to the children’s home. The children’s home is a day home that is open to children ages 6-12. They have time to play, have lunch, and have school time in the time they are there. All of the children come from the same neighborhood the clinic serves and they are able to receive free treatment there. Uniquely, this clinic has less oversight from the government and more freedom to control the types of services they provide. They are able to sustain as a business by receiving funding from the municipalities, the community and private donations. Ultimately, the volunteers here work very hard long hours with no pension and little funding. It is difficult to make improvements and grow the clinic as a non-profit in a less developed area, a challenge this clinic faces. 

Secondly, we visit Austral’s private university hospital. Austral is a relatively new hospital with a core purpose of caring for every individual with sincerity and providing high quality care. Austral is also a non-profit opposed to being privately owned with many specialties and departments which set it apart from other private hospitals. Austral’s challenges differ from the Health Clinics in part because of their different financial situations. Although they are both non-profit, Austral is a well-known hospital with the ability to promote donation and funding. However, many of Austral’s challenges stem from the complicated fragmented system of Argentine Health Care. Insurance companies are not able to set or change the prices of private insurance plans for their patients and constantly have to incorporate new technologies into their plans which is costly for the hospital and almost impossible to balance economically to make a profitable hospital.