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Revolutionary Cuba 

flagsTruman State University Spring Break trip to Cuba
March 10-18, 2018


Santa Clara Pediatric hospital (March 16)

273 beds, with different services & specialties for Villa Clara province
Works with kids to 19yrs old

Cuba public health system:
1. Based on family consultory doctor (family primary health care system), with a doctor & nurse in care of 1500 people. Basic functions: promotion, prevention, treatment. Doctor lives in the community, with doctor upstairs and office downstairs. The sorting of population. Doctor & nurse visit houses, and engage in promotion & prevention, check house conditions, food, hazards. Cuba is only place in world where doctor & nurse go into house, drink coffee, play dominos, check fridge, blood pressure, check health. Doctor is part of community. Policlinics group consultores. If that clinic is enough, refers to hospital.
2. Hospitals treat specialities.
3. If need more specialized treatment, referred to institute. For example, here in Sta Clara, one dedicated to cardiovascular.

3 principles:
1. Accessible to all
2. Free
3. Universal

Have freedom to decide where to go.
Also have social workers here, psychologist, etc.
50% of budget to healthcare system
Struggle to have access to technology & medicine. Cancer treatment is expensive. Example of treatment $50, but costs us 150 Euros cuz we need to leave to other country to buy in name of other company. Restrictions of US embargo. Technology is similar—have to make contacts thru 3-5 companies, and if it has US components can't import. However, we have recent technology thanks to country's efforts.

Use of clinic method in analysis of clients, instead of Xrays.

Mental health. Suicide is not a problem, mental heath not a problem. Only 8 beds. Work from base with psychologists in community working on prevention & promotion. Mental health treated in community with family, not treated alone. Psychocratic hospitals, but not removed from society.

Villa Clara main causes of death:
1. Cardiovascular disease
2. Cancer
3. Brain

Vaccine campaign against 23 diseases. especial campaign against transmission of aids. cuba was among first to eliminate transmission of aids from mother to child. Nutrition, smoking, alcoholism, chronic diseases such as hypertension & diabetes. cancer studies, including diabetic foot w/ 92% prevention of amputation of feet.

Nurses part syndicato de trabajadores de salud.
Prenatal healthcare
Abortion as option, several technique. Medical abortion, instruments. Infertility treatment.
4.2% infant mortality rate
1 yr maternity leave w/ pay, starting w/ 7 months

12 hr shifts & then 2 days off. 42 hr/wk. Everyone has 1 month question.
Intensive care: 1 nurse per patient, and changes according to needs.
Centralized 5 yr plan, calculate how many needs you'll have. diploma & job.
Goal: to take as little medicine as possible.
860 basic medicines: 90% made in cuba, 8% bought elsewhere.
Equipment life expectancy for 5 yrs, but after that can't find parts cuz it comes from US, so need to buy other piece of equipment.
Subsidized cost of medicine.

More women docs than men. More women nurses than male.

860 students from 32 countries training in Villa Clara. 9k cuban med students in Villa Clara (14 provinces in country)

Teaching sections in each unidad to continually update training.

Proyecto por una sonrisa: psychological project, unique in country. 2 teachers, art instructor, cultural promoter. Festival center. Lucius Walker came here. Trabajando contra la tristeza.


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