coinculture.com
On September 7 2021, the smallest country in Central America, El Salvador caught the attention of the world when it officially adopted Bitcoin as legal tender. Since then, the Salvadoran government has been making strides in turning the hallmark digital currency into a significant tool for societal change – at least in its home country.
Now half a year later, El Salvador has decided to invest some of the profits from their bitcoin operations ($4 million at the time) into building a massive veterinary hospital, one that will offer pet owners an affordable public healthcare option for their pets – a luxury that did not exist prior.
Source: Bitcoinist
“So we decided to invest a part of that money in this: a veterinary hospital for our furry friends,” Nayib Bukele (the president of El Salvador) wrote on Twitter.
The First Bitcoin-Powered Hospital
On February 23, President Bukele inaugurated the hospital – known as Chivo Pets (named after El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin wallet) – the region’s first public veterinary hospital. The inauguration and tour were broadcast live on a range of social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok) and was aired to El Salvadoran citizens on cable television.
Source: Twitter @nayibbukele
Throughout the tour, viewers were able to see the Bitcoin-empowered hospital in full, including a walkthrough of the facilities and an explanation of how everything would work. The main highlight, of course, was Bukele’s declaration that the Chivo Pets hospital would only levy a symbolic $0.25 fee for each procedure (paid in Bitcoin, using any wallet). The low fee was put in place to help people who could not afford private veterinary care for their pets, or rather, their loved ones.
“It’s totally symbolic because the idea is to support people who don’t have the money to take their loved ones elsewhere.”
The Chivo Pets hospital officially launched on February 26, and will undoubtedly be groundbreaking; for both the “cutting edge” facilities and also because of the virtually free healthcare that it will provide.
Everything about Chivo Pets
Chivo Pets is located in the municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlán, close to San Salvador’s capital.. Construction of the hospital began in November 2021, with plans for the hospital to be complete with clinics, emergency wards, operating rooms, quarantine rooms, radiology and laboratory areas, a pharmacy, recovery as well as rehabilitation areas (all of which was showcased in the launch tour video).
“I have not seen many veterinary hospitals like this in the world, and if there were, for sure it would be private, it would be very difficult to find something like this public veterinary hospital”, said the El Salvadoran president during the tour of the hospital.
Source: Twitter @nayibbukele
The facility also seeks to provide a stellar unrivalled customer experience, through its call centre that is dedicated to keeping owners updated. The hospital understands how worrisome it can be to have a pet in a hospital, and so offers a 24/7 toll-free call centre. It will keep owners updated on the condition of their pets through calls twice a day, and allows said owners to ask as many questions as they need to. The goal is to provide customers with “the holistic and specialised care they need”.
Source: Twitter @nayibbukele
Other Bitcoin Ventures by El Salvador
Chivo Pets Hospital is, in a single word, inspiring. But amazingly, El Salvador hasn’t just stopped there. Earlier this month, they introduced ‘La Casa Del Bitcoin’ or The House of Bitcoin, a crypto education centre that provides free learning opportunities for people to learn more about Bitcoin.
Source: TriggeredReviews
On the educational front, they have also built twenty primary schools using proceeds from El Salvador’s Bitcoin fund. The kicker? That’s only the first twenty, out of a target of four hundred. Suffice to say, El Salvador is truly utilising their adoption of Bitcoin to the fullest. Time will only tell what other inspiring tales will come from this nation.