National Healthcare

Except for the little guy’s fear of more pain, everything went quite smoothly. No paperwork, no bill, not even a signature nor proof of ID! Children are automatically covered in the health care system. Period.

The other afternoon, we had our first experience with the local health care system. One of our boys had fallen and received a gash in his forehead. It was late in the evening and we patched him up as well as we could, not wanting to deal with a new medical system the hour that we all needed to get to bed. Concerned about infection and scarring, we brought him to the clinic in nearby Santa Elena the following afternoon. A word about our transportation: After twenty minutes of walking along the road looking for a taxi or bus to flag down, a kind neighbor stopped and offered us a ride. He cleared room in his car, and stayed with us the entire time helping with translation and making sure we made it home.

We walked into the clinic about 4:03 and left the building at 4:23. In that span of twenty minutes, we walked directly to the emergency window, answered questions, and followed the nurse with our frightened child to the exam room. The doctor gently cleaned, examined and repatched the wound without stitches while the patient gathered his bravery. She provided a cleaning solution and sent us on our way. Of course, we stopped at the window to inquire about paperwork and the nurse informed us that we were finished and “que tenga un buena noche” (have a good evening.)
Signed: M