Our cohort started off the day at 9.00 AM with a tour of Clinica Latino facilities which included many introductions to Clinica Latino’s staff lead by the Astudillo family. Our tour ended in the conference room where we spent a good portion of the day discussing Clinica Latino’s key priorities in order to compete within Cuenca’s highly competitive healthcare sector.

Clinica Latino has a new V.I.P. floor which has suite style rooms to ensure many family members have the ability to help patients heal. Many of the patients which utilize the new V.I.P. suites often comment about the beautiful view which spans across Cuenca.

Daniela and Dr. Fausto Astudillo took our Cohort on a tour of historic Cuenca before we headed off to lunch at Tiesto’s

Tiger Prawns, Filets, Patatas with a spicy butter sauce, Michaledas and repeat !!

Our cohort was treated like the royal family at lunch with the Astudillos.

Here is a great team photo on August 9th including our clients Daniela Astudillo and Dr. Fausto Astudillo who traveled from Cuenca to Quito review our findings and spend a moment celebrating our team finishing our MBA program. We were able to wrangle in Dr. Masooud and Dr. Vafa for a couple celebratory cocktails and an wonderful photo to commemorate the moment. As everyone can see our team had a great time in Ecuador !

Being back home from Ecuador feels good but still anxious about the final project. No rest for us yet. It is a bit of a culture shock when returning from a trip such as this one because you are in the thick of it then you’re not. I find that this can be a difficult transition in the first few days back home. After being with your fellow students 24/7 throughout your trip, it seems different in the quietness of home.  Realizing that you no longer are traveling but still scrambling to complete the final touches on the group project is again pressing. As they say “the plane has landed” and we are back home preparing to cross the finish line together. There is another culture shock for some of us because we don’t have to register for fall semester. This is it the final academic hooray for so many of us yet for me it hasn’t quite sunken in. The final project reflects what has been learned throughout ones’ academic career. I believe our group has shown this throughout the trip.

There is a pleasant feeling knowing you can pick up where you left off before the trip. But what is also interesting is that many things have changed and that too is ok.  I’m excited for us as a group our hard work is finally paying off. I’m amazed how new everything feels after being away, and I wonder if others in my group feel the same way. Something has changed in our lives since the return home — the experience of a different culture and how it enriches one’s sense of being. We came back to what is familiar yet still exploring for potential new prospects. There is a pleasant familiarity to this because we know what is expected of us as citizens and students.  

Returning home feels good when catching up with family and friends. Explaining what you have learned along the way in our travel with respects to the people and project. Wondering how it will affect these individuals we met during our trip. Studying away from home can give us a broader view of the world. Traveling can change the way we view the world around us in fascinating ways. We realize that we connected with so many like-minded individuals throughout the trip. The completion of this project means we have made a difference in the way one culture interacts with another culture. These occasions offer us insight into other cultures and perhaps an appreciation for our own culture. More importantly coming home recharges you for the next possible adventure ahead.

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I’m not sure what my expectations were before our trip to Ecuador, but I can say the stress of our coursework, coupled with our work schedules, didn’t give us enough breathing room to really anticipate what the experience would really bring. But I can truly say that leaving Ecuador was harder that I expected it to be.

For one, the warmth with which each of our teams were welcomed by not only our clients, but everyone we met on our journey, left a lasting impression on me. On many occasions we were all told, “Ecuador is your country” and were welcomed back with open arms. The stark contrast of these sentiments and the immigration debate going on in the US was humbling to say the least. It also solidified for all of us the depth of our contributions to each of our projects.

While there may have been tensions and stresses amongst all of the teams heading to Ecuador, our journey allowed us to connect in a way that I had not expected. We laughed. A lot. We celebrated. We came together with our clients and delivered something meaningful and of value.

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The sights and sounds around Quito also will stay with us for a long time. The towering protective angel is in the background of almost all of my photos. The independence day celebrations a part of our memories forever.

Returning home in the early hours of Sunday morning was like the end of a long sleep-over party. We were definitely happy to be home, but for me, the connectedness I found with my team was certainly missing. That feeling lasted a few hours–maybe until Monday morning–when I remembered there was still work to do! Our clients, happy with our presentation, were waiting for our final recommendations. And so, the week began where it left off before the trip but with a refocused purpose. We are committed to not only delivering something of value to our Clinica Latino partners, but also to staying connected with them to ensure they have the resources to pull through our recommendations. I have personally started researching real estate in Cuenca in case a job opens up at the Clinic!

After our visit to Cuenca it was time for us to return to Quito and start to prepare for presentation day. The team came back with lots of new information and we could finally understand the vision plan that Clinica Latino could see for its near future. Our original marketing plan did have to be changed some, put for the most part it was about putting the final touches on our presentation. Then came the rehearsals and trying to keep the presenters at 20 minutes, needless to say everyone learned their part and we even broke it down to how many minutes each person needed.

Final it was the “big day.” As everyone got ready and put on their suits there was a feeling of great accomplishment and our group was ready and very excited to share our new vision of Clinica Latino to Daniella and Dr Fausto. The presentation went very well and we could sense that our clients were pleased with the objectives that we had presented to them. At that moment as I looked at all my teammates I felt very proud of the hard work that we had done and the fact that it was a team project and everyone did their part to bring it all together.

After many group pictures and lots of hugs we all sat down to a very nice luncheon where Harriett was presented with an award from the Barowskly School of Business. It was a very nice afternoon of reflections and spending time with our clients before they had to fly back to Cuenca. Now that the presentations were done it was time to have some fun with our classmates on the last day in Ecuador. We made the most of our time by going back to the old town, shopping in the market place and zip lining.

The diverse and unique city of Quito!

With about a 5-hour layover in Panama, The Clinica Latino team spent 20 hours give or take on traveling from SFO to Quito. We were beat up from the feet up by the time we checked into the Hotel.  With little rest and recovery, the next day we headed out on a bus with the other Dominican teams to meet various businesses in the area. They ranged from an environmentally conscious chocolatier to a technology consulting company. All of our hosts were very pleasant and accommodating. Making all of us feel welcomed and important. Because the teams shared so much time together, it was natural for all of us to get to know each other more.  The diverseness of the MBA students was also reflective in our experiences with Quito and Ecuador. It all felt so right.

With little rest and recover the second day involved a ½ day tour of the old colonial section of Quito two magnificent catholic cathedrals. The first tour was the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito. Metropolitan It’s located on the southern side of the Plaza of the Independence and it served as a seat of the Diocese of Quito from 1545 until 1848. The tour allowed us to climb to the top spire exposing amazing views of the geography and the city.

The second cathedral we visited was the Church of the Jesuits with its golden interior. The exterior and interior is designed in baroque style. It’s very ornate to say the least. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph the interior, but here’s a shot of the outside.  As you walked in there’s two paintings adjacent from one another. On the left, was a depiction on heaven and judgment of those outside the gate and on the right as you walked in was a depiction of hell and the eternal punishment of those who committed deadly sins.

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Although we’ve learned so much about the history and culture of Ecuador and it’s capital city, there’s never enough time to get the consulting project just right. But as a cohesive team, a couple of adult beverages and bar snacks, anything’s possible. Look at us go! We’re so very intense and productive! A couple of days following out city tour the team spent some time preparing for our flight and meeting with our client “Clinica Latino” in Cuenca. We needed lots of nourishment and libations to stay on task!  At this point we needed lot’s of nourishment and coffee as it was an all day affair. Although we’ve learned so much about the history and culture of Ecuador and it’s capital city, there’s never enough time to get the consulting project just right. But as a cohesive team, a couple of adult beverages and bar snacks, anything’s possible. Look at us go! We’re so very intense and productive!

Finally the much anticipated meeting happened. Our Clinica Latino team left Quinto early Tuesday morning and were met by Daniella Austidillo Marketing Manager and Dr. Fausto Austidillo. After a short ten minute drive to the hospital, we were treated to Cuenca’s hospitality where our clients had arranged a hearty breakfast. Once we were fueled up, our clients led by Clinica Latino’s CEO took us on a two hour tour of the hospital. Here, we not only got to experienced the very luxurious VIP rooms, but also had access to the CEO and were able to ask him many questions regarding operations at the hospital.

After our tour we regrouped in one of the hospitals conference rooms and continued our discussions on what the opportunities were at Clinica Latino. Listening to the doctors about the vision for Clinica Latino was inspiring. Our take away from this meeting was that we were not going to ‘fix’ all the issues facing the hospital, however if we focused on one area e.g producing a strategic marketing plan, we would be on the right track!

After our morning discussion we were treated to lunch at one of the top 5 restaurants in South America, Tiesto’s! All we could say was “barriga llena, corazon contento.” – Our bellies were full and our hearts were happy.

We had a special guest speaker join our Global Consulting Practicum class via meet google Mr. Andrés Fiallo is the Senior Political Adviser to the President of the United Nations General Assembly. He begins the presentation with thanking us for the support we will be providing to several businesses and organizations in his home country of Ecuador. Mr. Fiallo presentation covered several areas first, Ecuadorean history and its rich diversity of the people and land, second, he shared with us the pollical layout and governmental structure, third, the country’s GDP, exports and imports, finally what he sees for Ecuador’s future.

I had no idea that although Ecuador’s land area is smaller than the state of Arizona, it outpaces the entire United States when it comes to biodiversity. The country of Ecuador spans the Andes-Amazon region, which includes the Galápagos’ archipelago. Mr. Fiallo also shared some interesting fact about the regent.

Ecuador’s Administrative division breaks down to 24 provinces (provincias) these provinces are governed by the elected Prefect with the executive chosen Governor. The executive branch Chief of state President and Vice-President are elected, and the executive branch cabinet are appointed by the president. The legislative body of Congress is elected by multi-party elections. The Judiciary Council oversees the judicial branch, and the justices are selected by a commission compressed of two delegates from the Executive, legislative, and transparency branches. Mr. Fiallo pointed out that this government is commented to addressing the needs of indigenous people, the disabled, and gender equality. It aspires to bring the government closer to its people.

The presentation continued with a breakdown of Ecuador’s commodity’s and how it is a primary source of their GDP, exporting petroleum, bananas, crustacean, and flowers while much of their importing is refined petroleum, coal tar oils, and cars. Ecuador’s decision to convert to the dollar in 1998 has kept it currency stable and from inflation but has made it difficult to compete with neighboring Latin American countries. He also pointed out that Ecuador must address their high public debt. He expressed concern that by cutting the subsidies serving the most vulnerable may have a negative and lasting effect on his fellow countryman. Mr. Fiallo shares a realistic yet promising outlook for Ecuador. In closing, he again thanked us, and graciously answered several questions asked by the class. I would like to thank Mr. Fiallo for taking the time to speak to us. I feel that this talk planted the seed of dialogue between our two peoples. We learned so much about the country and the people of Ecuador.

As team Super Clinica we have created an inclusive team charter and segmented our team focusing on four strategic categories to include General Business, Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources. Our team believes in order to meet the expectations of Clinica Latino stakeholders we need to ensure our teams leverage open communication with Clinica Latino leadership with our extensive industry knowledge of the US healthcare industry. We will continue to discuss industry trends and share best practices while considering the feedback provided from a growing healthcare provider with 62 years of experience.

Clinica Latino provides large variety of service lines to address a diverse population ranging from medical tourists, native populations of all income levels, and ages. Our team will illustrate how Clinica Latino currently provides a unique, high quality, personalized healthcare experience for all current and prospective patients. Once we learn more about the ideal state for Clinica Latino our team can share best practices deployed by US health care providers and payers hopefully adding a new perspective when deploying an omni channel digital marketing strategy.

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Human Resource (HR) departments around the world are trying to attract and keep the best talent providing a competitive advantage while dealing with multiple challenges of being healthcare professionals. Today’s HR teams within the healthcare sector are constantly searching for qualified staff coupled and if that isn’t hard enough this issue is exacerbated with a high employee turnover rate. Our team is dedicated to evaluate historical staffing challenges, current market trends, while sharing best practices and success stories.

Thanks for joining us on our journey through consulting with Clinica Latino!

Our journey together truly began last night! Our first meeting was full of information (both positive and cringe-worthy) and lots of soul searching. Our first task was to meet our team, which happily came together seamlessly for the Healthcare Leadership crew.

Our team is comprised of leaders from across the healthcare landscape, bringing experience in sales, marketing, clinical, practice management, patient advocacy, and health administration (oh my!). It’s a good thing, too… our Clinical Latino project brief will test our expertise in all of these areas!

Our hope as a team is to be able to balance the demands of our full time jobs and, often, conflicting schedules with the dedication this project will demand. We also hope to be able to provide a tangible strategic plan for our clients that will help support their growth. Many of us have already worked together in groups so we have a lot of confidence that we will be able to foster a collaborative experience.

A few of us are really worried about the altitude in Quito and happy that prescription medicine can be procured rather easily from the pharmacy if we need it. A bigger fear, though, was obtaining clear direction from the client that does not waver during the project. Our speaker, Dennis, described a situation in which the clients themselves were not on the same page, which caused confusion and chaos for the team for a brief time. In an attempt to be proactive about this fear, we plan to communicate clearly and directly with the clients, and to “bring them along” as we work through our research and strategy.

As I mentioned before, our team is just overflowing with experience and personality. We all bring to the table unique personality traits that will help drive us forward through the process. Caroline brings calm and fun, Harriet is loud and enthusiastic , Esmeralda is resourceful and dedicated, Heidi is rational and even-keeled, while Mark brings lively banter and Rob brings objectivity.

From and experience perspective, we excel in our various fields and bring strategic thinking, people skills and a deep and diverse understanding of healthcare to the table. Together we are a venerable force!