Touring Hospitals and El Parque Historico de Guayaquil

So today was our first whole day in Ecuador!

We had the pleasure of sleeping in because of our late arrival last night. We all grabbed breakfast at the hotel restaurant- yummy fruit, breads, eggs, and yogurt. At ten o’clock we jumped in two vans and headed to the oldest hospital in the Americas, the Luis Vernaza General Hospital, built in 1564. Don’t let the old age fool you! It’s still quite the hospital! We toured various areas including the emergency room, three levels of Intensive Care Units, cardiology unit, and post-operative recovery area. The hospital is divided based on funding- the private part and the “Junta.” The private area was noticeably nicer, although the patients pay a bundle for it. The “Junta” is an organization, which funds their care through a lottery in Ecuador. Patients who come to the “Junta” area pay based on what they can afford. Their care was still pretty remarkable. One ICU was brand new and comparable to an ICU in the United States. They are very advanced in some ways like having a whole area for stem cell implants. An interesting aspect was the lack of privacy. There were six to twenty patients in each room lying on stretchers within arms distance of each other. They did not seem put off by this though. The patients were very friendly and excited to see us. The courtyard of the hospital was very beautiful and included a cathedral. There are photos posted below.

            Our next stop was the children’s hospital in another part of town. It was very nice and reminded us of Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake. The babies and children were so cute! We won’t be doing clinicals there, but it was interesting to tour it. That hospital is also funded by “Junta.”

            Last, we spent the afternoon at “El Parque Historico de Guayaquil.” This park was very fun! We had tour guides lead us through the various areas. First, in the wildlife portion we saw a bunch of crazy animals like crocodiles, parrots, tapirs, sloths, monkeys, and crabs. One monkey entertained us thoroughly as he tried to crack open a nut on three different surfaces. The next area of the park was restored buildings called the urban architectural zone. We took a bunch of cute pictures on the cable cars outside. We also saw an old restored farm and a beautiful garden!

By the end we were all pretty tuckered from the humidity and lack of sleep. We stopped by the MegaMaxi grocery store to pick up some water and food. Tomorrow is Sunday so we’re all excited to go to church for the first time in Ecuador!