Today was our first full day with the entire team together
and our first day at Roosevelt. We arrived at the hospital at 8AM to meet with
the directors and maintenance staff to discuss our visit and changes in the
hospital. After many conversations and meetings (all in rapid Spanish, of
course) we headed to the Gastroenterology unit. I had never been to this part
of the hospital before and was excited to see that Byron, a resident we met
last year, is now specializing in gastro. While we were waiting for procedures
to finish we sat in the resident lounge. I immediately noticed the curtains in
the room, which are embroidered with different brands of medicine used to treat
various gastrointestinal illnesses such as Levolona. Early this year, in a
class at WashU, I learned about FDA regulations and drug advertising laws in
the US, primarily through a Vioxx case study. It was really interesting to hear
that direct-to-consumer advertising takes place in Guatemala as well and that
drug companies actively visit Roosevelt with gifts such as the curtains and
even the table in the room we were waiting in.
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| The curtains in the gastro lounge |
The Gastro unit at Roosevelt is very important, particularly
due to the high rates of diabetes and kidney disease in Guatemala. Byron told
us the unit sees about 20-30 people each day. There were patients lined up in
the hallway waiting to be seen, many of whom did not look well, to say the
least.
Seconds after the procedure ended we were invited into the
room to look at the equipment. It was interesting that we did not see any
sanitation procedures taking place, even though we literally saw the patient
wheeled out in front of us before entering. Gastro nurses noted that of the 6
endoscopes the unit has only 2 are currently working. They pointed out many
other pieces of equipment including respirators, monitors and sensors. After
reviewing this equipment we headed out of Roosevelt to Oakland to start
researching more about endoscopes, a piece of equipment we have no experience
with whatsoever.
The three members of the traveling team who had never seen
Roosevelt before will be posting later to share their reflections.
We ended the day with a traditional Guatemalan meal at La
Casita Canchita full of tamales, pepían and cuchitos.
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