Day 3

Hey peoples!

Well I am actually writing this on Day 4, because I have internet! yay! So this is what I did on Day 3. I got up around 6:15 and we had to be at the house at about 7am for breakfast. (I am now referring to the hostel as the house... because I feel like I live here permanently). For breakfast we had Eggs with ham, pineapple, strawberries, cornflakes and toast with Guavo Jam. This jam is the best jam in the world.... (other than Grandma Joan's of course!) After breakfast we took a bus to San Jose (at about 8am) to the Hospital for a tour!

These are somethings that I saw on the tour::
1.) A room of Hyperbaric Chambers: Let me fill you in on what these are
Hyperbaric Chambers are big..... uh... chambers that can either fit about 6 people or it can be shaped just like a tube that could fit just one person. Hyperbaric Oxygenation is a treatment available in advanced medical centers, which is administered in a special chamber where the patient breathes pure O2 at high pressure. This will increase the amt of O2 in the blood which provides a level of O2 in the tissue that is sufficient to cure or improve diseases where this is the Treatment of choice (TOC). It is uses for things such as diving accidents, venous air embolism, cabonmonoxide or smoke poisoning, diabetic foot and skin grafts. It also is used as a complimentary treatment for things such as cerebral hypoxia (or not enough O2 in the brain), cosmetic surgery/reconstructive surgery, sports lesions, and other infections. I have a really cool pamphlet that I just got all this information about hyperbaric chambers and it had pictures in it of the ones that I saw. Because the patient is in the chamber for at least 50 minutes, they have a TV on top of the chamber so that you can watch it to pass the time. If you need to communicate with anyone for any reason, there is a phone on the inside of the chamber that is used to call the nurses who are on the outside of the chamber (like if you wanted to change the channel on the TV). If you are claustrophobic this is NOT A GOOD TREATMENT FOR YOU. Mom- let's do everything possible to avoid this therapy for you- hehe!
 Picture of a Multiple Hyperbaric Chamber
Picture of a Single Hyperbaric Chamber

2. The next thing that we saw was The Hotel el Posada Convento. This is loosely a new concept in medical services and hotel. This was attached to the hospital and it was GORGEOUS. These hosptial hotels are for family members who want to live in with their sick family member-It looks just like a hotel room, however there is a set up for the patient in the room as well. The room is very large and has king size beds for the pt families. Attached to this hotel is a church where family members can go to pray as well, and that too is beautiful. There is a small courtyard with a gazebo, plants and a fountain! It is muy bonita (very pretty). There is also a walkway in the hospital that is made all of glass with gardens on each side. I really wish that I could explain how beautiful it is, but there are no words. You can see the Hotel in the hospital by going Here.

3. Other departments that I got to "peak" at were ICU, OR, MedSurg, and Radiology. I can not tell you much about them because I could not go actually in the departments. However, they were present and beautiful!

4. Another thing that I saw was a cafe where Patients and Visitors may eat together and this looks JUST LIKE A RESTAURANT! There is nothing that looks like a Cafeteria in the hospital like it does in the United States. Just as a side note. The hospital DOES NOT SMELL AT ALL. This is because they keep all the doors open to the outside during the day, and there are parts of the hospital that have no closed ceiling. It lets "fresh" air in all the time, which Florance Nightingale would be VERY pleased with.

Another couple interesting things that I should mention is about the insurance. This hospital is for people who are private insurance payers or private pay. However, there is one floor that is dedicated to automobile accidents because they are so many here in Costa Rica that they need a floor to help the community hospitals house these patients and let them get treatment. If a patient has Seguro Social (aka: Medicaid/Medicare) they have a different hospital that they are treated at. I can't tell you any more than that because I do not really understand its entirety however, that is just they way it is. We were also told that they treat somewhere around 50-60 accidents a day!

The last thing that we saw was the plastic surgery department. It was absolutely beautiful and they were celebrating a certain number of years (I don't remember) of being established.

After going to the hospital we went to Spanish class where we learned about the five senses (la vista, el oido, el olfato, el gusta, y el facto) We also talked about all the things that someone would need to stay healthy....
1. Domir Bien- Good Sleep
2. Bebir Agua- Drink Water
3.Comer Frutas- Eat Fruit
4. Visital el Doctor- Visit the Doctor
etc... etc...etc...

We also talked about reflexive verbs but- I won't get into talking about them on here because they are kinda complicated ... but it is basically like saying "I wash myself" Banarse ...
Then we came home and had some amazing dinner which consisted of fish sticks, veggies and rice.

No pictures for today because we can not take pics in the hospital.
-Kara