Obstacles of Obras Sociales

Today we had the honor of meeting Dr. Daniel Ferrante, the current Deputy Minister of Health of CABA. He enlightened us on the history of their health department. This educational conversation set the tone for the rest of the day as he elaborated on the complexities of their healthcare system and how there is much…

A Day of Dialogue

Over the course of the day, starting at 9 am and ending around 4 pm, we found ourselves moving quickly between conversations with current government officials, labor leaders, and a former Minister of Health. Each of these meetings offered us a different and unique window into Argentina’s public healthcare landscape. We ended the long day…

Day 6 in Argentina

Today, we visited the Etnograpfico Museum, which had displayed indigenous clothing and relics from southern South America, showing their lifestyles before Spanish occupation. Also, we talked with the Current Deputy Minister of Health of Buenos Aires, the Director of the Obra Social de Comercio, the largest union in Argentina, and a former Deputy Minister of…

Day 6: Policies and Politics

We started the day with a visit to the Buenos Aires city government, where we had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Daniel Ferrante, the Deputy Minister of Health. It was an honor to hear from someone in such a high-ranking position and gain insight into the city’s healthcare system. Dr. Ferrante shared the challenges…

PMO and how it affects Obras Sociales

The PMO is a list of all medical services that must be covered under any health insurance scheme. Patients must be provided with a minimum number of services, but there is no upper limit to what can be included. As I mentioned, this is a legal minimum of services by all entities that provide health…

All About Obras Sociales

We started off day six by taking a trip to the Buenos Aires City Government for a lecture from the current Deputy Minister of Health of CABA. He explained to us how there are nuclear groups in each province that help to organize and manage healthcare, making sure national plans are followed while also meeting…

Day 6 in Buenos Aires!

Day 6 we started with a lecture taught by the deputy minister of health in Caba, Dr. Daniel Ferrante. He spoke about the history of the healthcare system and the public sector. He educated us on the nuclear groups of the provinces which divide the care having each a region to provide for. Each region…

Day 6 – Visits from leadership

Today was packed with back to back lectures and site visits, but it gave us a deeper look at the inner workings and challenges of Argentina’s healthcare system. We started the morning at the Ministry of Health, where we spoke with a representative about how the public healthcare system operates on a national level. From…

Politics, PMOs, & Pastries

Today we started our day off with a lecture from the current Deputy Minister of Health of CABA. This lecture educated us more about the public system and the ministry’s role in funding this system. The provinces are divided into regions, each containing a nuclear team that cares for the people in that region. These…

PMO – Challenging the Obras Sociales.

PMO is a unique concept that Argentina has and comes from their constitutional idea of free healthcare. PMO is essentially what any sort of health insurance needs, must, and has to cover the payment for when someone goes to the hospital and gets treatment or medicine. Another unique thing in Argentina is the Obras Sociales…

Dancing Through Healthcare Realities

We took on the tango bright and early this morning learning both the traditional and acrobatic tango. It is such a beautiful style of dance where there is a lead and a follower who needs to work cohesively to make the dance flow. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and headed over to take a tour…

Day 5: Public Hospitals at Play

Does anyone need a tango partner? We began our day with a tango lesson hosted by IES, where we learned the basic steps and discussed the history of tango dancing. It was a really fun and engaging cultural experience, I am very excited to see a live show later this trip. Afterward, we took a…

From San Isidro to Paroissien

I had the most fun today, learning one of Argentina’s most traditional dances, the tango. This morning, we had a tango lesson and were taught some of the basic steps to a very complex but beautiful dance. I thought this was not only entertaining but valuable for us to experience a part of the country’s…

Tango, Tour, and Talks

We began the day a little later today and headed to a tango lesson at IES. During the lesson, we learned a couple of basic steps, and although it was tricky to get the hang of, it was a lot of fun. The teachers of the lesson then gave us a demonstration of traditional tango…

From Tango to Triage

We started off the day with a tango lesson taught by two professional tango dancers at the IES headquarters. This was definitely a highlight, as it was so cool to watch and learn to do Argentina’s cultural and most famous dance. After lunch, we took the bus to Paroissien Hospital in La Matanza, a public,…

Health in Motion

Today we started off our day with tango lessons at IES. It was so cool to hear about the culture of tengo and watch the dancers perform. We than went to see a public hospital called Paroissien Hospital of UNLaM. This hospital is responsible for about 2 million people and are known for high level…

Learning the steps – on the floor and in the field

Day 5 in Buenos Aires! Today we started the day a little differently, with a tango lesson at the IES headquarters. It was so much fun and very cool for the professional dancers to show us their routine, and then teach us how to do some of the steps. We then went to Paroissien Hospital…

Day 5: Universidad Nacional de La Matanza

After a tango lesson to kick off the morning, we headed to the Universidad Nacional de La Matanza, where we visited the Paroissien Hospital. There, we learned more about Argentina’s public healthcare sector and saw how it operates in real time. The hospital serves around 12,000 patients each month and is located in La Matanza,…

Day 5 in Buenos Aires!

Day 5 was packed with so many events, starting off with a tango lesson led by two tango dancers! They taught us the basic steps as we danced with our fellow peers. We then took a bus to the La Matanza and toured the Paroissien Hospital and its university where we met the administrators and…

Tango Thursday!

We started our fifth day in Buenos Aires with a tango lesson at IES which was a great way to start a pretty busy day. Watching the instructors perform the tango was very impressive, and I never realized how much of it is improvised. After this, we got on a bus and headed to the…