In 1976, her father invited her to join the workforce at Clinica Hospital San Fernando. More than 40 years later, Elisa de Lewis is the General Manager and Executive Vice President of this renowned hospital, always focused on getting to know each of the collaborators in depth and maintaining a close relationship with the doctors.
She is an innate leader, with a human sensitivity that strengthens her commitment to patients and the institution. With studies in Management at Marymount College and Loyola University, Elisa de Lewis, has learned that the most valuable thing is listening to include people in solutions. This is the reason why our special guest is one of the people who leads vaccination in private hospitals today, as always, seeking the common good of all, strength that can contribute to the tourism industry and the country.
How important is it that private hospitals have joined the vaccination process to achieve herd immunity across the country?
“For the general population it is very important to have greater accessibility to different vaccination centers, since for many the distance can be one of the mayor factors that prevents them from going. With this support we expand the options, and provide a greater capacity for care, in order to increase the number of people vaccinated”.
Health vs economy, how can both work in harmony to move the country forward, and therefore the tourism industry?
“In order for the tourism industry to grow today, it is of utmost importance to increase the number of vaccinated people and in this way to be able in a certain way, to mainly promote safer environments, and to continue modifying the restrictions, in order to promote the growth of the economy. I believe that the strategy of conducting vaccination sweeps should be continued in the most popular areas and that both tourists and our population feel more protected”.
Health must be managed well, how would you manage tourism to ensure the good health of the industry and ensuring safe and pleasant experiences in our country?
“The priority at this time should be to keep the population healthy, opening tourism opportunities, maintaining or offering vaccination to tourists as long as our population is vaccinated.”
In the healthcare industry, human care is vital to the recovery of a patient. What suggestions would you make to the tourism industry to improve service?
“Good service is essential in any sector. In the tourism sector today, in addition to providing a good service, nowadays adequate protection must be guaranteed. An alternative could be offering the possibility of vaccinating tourists, without neglecting the local population”.
Health tourism continues to be a segment of tourism with enormous potential. How important is this segment for you and what are the projects that are contemplated for the future in the medium and long term?
“Health tourism in our country still has many questions and undefined aspects. One of them is that most of the potential patients who seek health services are those whose insurers do not cover the procedures and that is why they seek cheaper options in other countries, which often represents a risk for hospitals or healthcare services. Health, in terms of guaranteeing the corresponding payment, or in case they is increased for any reason, or that the patient requires additional care after the procedure, among other things.
Panama has remowned professionals in the health industry with international achievements. How can we capitalize on it to support the development of our country brand around the world?
“In Panama we offer state-of-the-art health services with professional, trained personnel and technology at the level of many hospitals in the United States and Europe. However, the volume of care is not the same, which is an obstacle to compete with these large hospitals abroad. We must, together with the State, promote our services to places or countries where their services are not so competitive and / or affordable, and thus together publicize our advantages and service capacity in this sector.