490: Week #5

On Thursday, we visited Santo Spirito Hospital. It was a very exciting day. Dayna, Carol, and I sat with the creeper on the 7:06am train into Termini. When we got there, we had a moment and then got on Bus 40 to go to the hospital. We got off a little past the hospital, and walked back to it. When we went into the hospital, it was a lot different than a hospital in the US. None of the buildings were connected. We went into one then back out the other side.

We met with the Director of the Nursing Program at the hospital. Danilo translated her welcome to us. And then we met a couple other faculty members from the nursing program. After learning a little bit about Italy’s healthcare system, we went on our tour. We started out with the surgery wing. They explained the computer system for patients and the way they get prescriptions for their patients. We even met an American patient! Next we went to cardiology wing of the hospital. In groups, we went in to the ICU to see some of the more critical patients. After that wing, we went the obstetric and gynecology wing. We followed the path that a woman in labor would follow.

We learned that the Italians pay $1000 in taxes for healthcare every year, even if they don’t use it. I’m pretty sure that all their medical expenses were covered under this tax that they pay. We also learned that if someone is sick they see their GP before they go to the hospital. And if someone asks for a test, they have to pay for it, but if the test is ordered, then it is paid through the taxes.