Today Conny accompanied Daniel and I to visit the directors of the private hospital and the public health center in Urubamba. We went with the intentions of learning about the health care system of Urubamba and to find out what the directors thought about creating a small healthcare post in Media Luna.
The private hospital is for people who are well insured and typically work in the professional sector. MINSA, the public health option, serves the lower-income sector that works in the manual labor sector, i.e. agriculture, construction, etc. This low-income section of the population is able to enroll in a public insurance option for one sol (approximately $0.30 US). Anyone who resides in the communities outside of Urubamba proper most likely goes to MINSA for their medical concerns, although the payment is small not everyone is insured. However, schools are working to make sure that the students are insured and sometimes able to talk with the entire families about the importance of the medical insurance.
The consensus regarding the idea to create some sort of outlet for medical attention in Media Luna is that it would be a waste of human and economic resources.
Dr. Martin, the director of the private hospital, reasoned that there are prerequisites for constructing medical centers, dependent on several factors but predominantly the population size of a community. He argued that the hospitals in Urubamba are close enough to Media Luna and maybe the problem lies in the availability of transportation.
Dr. Fredy, the director of MINSA, gave our proposition to create a small medical outlet some thought but still contended that it would be a waste of resources. Like many public health options, MINSA is lacking in personnel and technological resources. For example, he shared that the health center has been waiting three years for new scales. Dr. Freddy discussed two options that Nexos Voluntarios can contemplate in regards to addressing health issues in Media Luna. We can take a curative approach that would require the availability of a doctor and a nurse to the community and would only solve problems after they arise. Or we can pursue a preventative approach that would require either a nurse or a nursing technician and would aim to avoid most health problems before they occur.
Overall, the morning was slightly discouraging but absolutely necessary in the development of our plans for Media Luna. So many well-intentioned plans of development are never completed because they are not properly researched. While we need to start over with our thought process it is better to do so before any real actions were taken or funds were spent.
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