best hospital in the dr ??

[paddy]

where is the best hospital located in the dr? what is the average responce time for a medical emergency? i hate to mix a question like this in among the best hamburgers and pizza etc...but if i'm to consider a retirement to anywhere..these questions are important to me. thanks

[Ken]

Paddy, if rapid response by a trained team in response to a 911 call is important to you, then don't move to the DR. Service like that does not exist. When you live here, you just have to accept the fact that if trained medical care is required within the first few minutes of a heart attack, for example, then you are a goner unless God chooses to let you live another day.

I live in Sosua. In case of a medical emergency, one way or another (including taxi), the victim needs to be gotten to Centro Medico Bournigal for emergency care. Figure about an hour, including the confusion, etc., of figuring out who to call, etc.

Or you can call Servi Med in Cabarete, and a doctor will get to you within an hour. But if you need any medical service, he will arrange to get you to Centro Medico Bournigal.

You can stay at Centro Medico Bournigal, or go to a hospital in Santiago or Santo Domingo by ambulance once you are stabilized, or even by helicopter if your condition warrants it. Since we established all our medical contacts at Clinica Abreu in Santo Domingo, that is where we would go once able to make the trip.

If this doesn't sound like what you are looking for in your retirement years, then you should reconsider your plan to move to the DR.

[sweetdbt]

Ken,

Having read with interest your excellent posts following your wife's medical emergency, I know you have real first hand experience here. Based on this, would your "quick and dirty" answer to the question of "where is the best hospital?" be Clinica Abreu in SD? If the OP hasn't ruled out living in the Capital for other reasons, it would seem proximity to a place like that would put him in a better situation, although I have no misconceptions about the emergency services being up to first world standards.

[mido]

I had to use this hospital in 2001 because I broke my ankle 6 times and tore a couple of tendons too.
I received excellent medical care and fully recovered. Most or all of the doctors are foreigners and speak English as well.
They have a very good ambulance service and can start live saving treatment on the way to the hospital.
A friend of mine had emergency brain surgery there after an accident and was flown home later.

It is not exactly cheap but if you live here you should have health insurance anyway.
Here you can check out there website www.hospiten.es.

[Ken]

sweetdbt, for us, Clinica Abreu is the best hospital. I say this because nearly all the doctors we use are all affiliated with Clinica Abreu and all are excellent, received most if not all of their medical training in the US, Canada or Europe, speak excellent English, and are highly regarded in their field. We started with a recommendation from a gastroenterologist in Puerto Rico we had great regard for. He recommended a former classmate friend from the medical school they attended in the US. As we have needed other doctors over the years, our gastroenterologist has always been asked who he recommended. Consequently, we are now in the hands of a circle of doctors who know each other and who combine forces, as needed, when we have a medical problem.

I don't think we would be in better hands anywhere, including in the US, but this does not mean that I would call Clinica Abreu the best hospital in the DR because I don't know enough about the others. For us it is the best.

[paddy]

thanks ken..i don't know if last thank you went through

[pacito]

Anyone would have any comments on the Rodriguez clinic (medical center Rodriguez) in Sto Domingo ?

I am told it is the most expensive in the city....is it better than " Abreu"?

[TEHAMA]

Do you have the address and telephone number? An emergency number would be great. Thanks.
TEHAMA

[Dolores]

See http://dr1.com/living/health/2.shtml

[TEHAMA]

Originally Posted by Dolores

See http://dr1.com/living/health/2.shtml

Dolores, thanks. I never knew that information is listed on DR1.
Great job. And thanks again. I will print this page.
TEHAMA