|
|
The Construction of the New Children's Hospital in Buenos Argentina (1955-85) Personal and Professional Memories
| This paper examines the opening of a modern Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The research for this paper is based on the personal accounts of the professionals who participated in the organization and construction of the Children’s Hospital. My interviews with them reveal a new perspective on modern Argentine history.
The hospital project was the brainchild of a group of young pediatricians in the immediate aftermath of the 1955 fall of the Peronist regime. These physicians dreamed of modernizing the field of pediatrics and believed that the ousting of Peron offered the ideal conditions for their plans. Soon, however, political dislocation thwarted their hopes. Despite these difficulties, the modernizing pediatricians persevered and lobbied the various governments in office until the Children’s Hospital finally opened in 1985. The original project aimed at creating a teaching and research institution. However politicians and administrators hoped to use the new institution as a banner to signal their commitment to people’s needs. As the Hospital was advertised as serving the people, the project illustrates the ways in which populist elements tinged health policies across various political regimes
|
|
