“Why would you live in a third world country?”, they said.
Today was our first visit to the new hospital in our town, constructed early last year. Thankfully nothing serious- my husband had an infected ingrown toenail from wearing running shoes that were too tight. We tried treating it at home, but it was looking pretty gnarly, so we decided to get it checked out.
We walked into the hospital and were immediately impressed with how clean and quiet it was. The receptionist wrote down his name on a piece of paper and told us to sit down in the empty waiting room. We barely had a chance to sit when they called us. The nurse took us to a private exam room, outfitted with a cot, a sink and some cupboards. Very simple, but clean and efficient. She washed her hands, gloved up, unwrapped new tools and went to work. (This was the part where I stopped watching because...gross!) After the procedure and a few stitches, she bandaged him up and gave him a prescription for antibiotics.
In and out in 20 minutes. How much did this cost, you ask? FREE. (Well actually, the pharmacy attached to the hospital didn’t have the proper antibiotic so we had to go to a different one in town to get it and it cost us $1.54). Nicaragua offers free public healthcare to everyone, whether you are a citizen, a foreigner, or a beach bum (me!).
For more serious situations, surgeries, or childbirth, we also have a private, American-standard hospital 2 hours away. We recently had a friend who went for a hernia surgery, stayed a couple nights and left with a $600 bill. He said it was the best medical experience he ever had and couldn’t believe the excellent care they provided.
It’s so eye-opening to have these “life outside of the US” moments and I just wanted to share a piece of that here.
Stay healthy, everyone!
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét