In this giant, city-block-sized complex, I couldn't find a wi-fi
signal anywhere. But I knew there had to be a router somewhere. It's
just way too modern to not have one, I was certain. (My phone is in
"airplane mode" to avoid huge data roaming charges.)
With my miserable Spanish and my iPhone in hand, I wandered the halls,
courtyards and departments, trying to be sure to remember how to get
back to my little space where I'm processing patient info onto a
spreadsheet.
I was in a maze and on a mission.
I walked into a random office and managed to get the woman behind the
desk to understand that I needed a wi-fi signal.
She took me to another office, where a doctor was giving dictation to
an assistant. After I apologized for interrupting, the assistant
delivered me to another nearby office that looked like Mission Control.
This was clearly the communication nerve center, where the hospital
computer nerds kept everything humming. There were many computers and
all manner of high-tech equipment, including state-of-the-art
teleconferencing equipment for two-way audio/visual consults with
hospitals all over the country.
There, a young, sympathetic-looking guy watched my struggle to
communicate with an awkward combo of poor Spanish and pantomime before
asking me in English whether I was looking for a wi-fi signal.
:-)
He had me follow him up a narrow spiral staircase to a beautiful
conference room in the process of being mysteriously decorated with
orange and white balloons.
He walked over to the huge flat-panel TV, looked behind it, unplugged
the glue-gun that someone had plugged in to hang balloons, and plugged
in the router.
In seconds I had the signal.
Then the password prompt came up, and my new friend provided the
critical information I needed. Voilà! Blog entry posted!
-- Larry Shushan
Photos: The Institute's logo, and a group of nurses helping PINCC
today. From left: Rosa Sifuenta Yanac, Flor Guerrero and Carmen
Espinoza.
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