This article examinesthe impact of the economic crisis of the instituto materno infantil, colombia, on patients and workers. Families comment on the quality and warmth of health care provided; however, healthcare workers act as buffers protecting patients from the full impact of the crisis. in addition, delays in workers' payments have worsened their quality of life and forced them to look for additional income. We discuss connections between the economic crisis of public hospitals and structural adjustment and conclude that the "problem" of financial viability of the hospitals needs to be analyzed with a political economy framework.