Opening Medical School in DR

[DrVBaSiC]

Hi,
A group of investors are looking into opening a medical school in the Dominican Republic and I wanted to get some information as to who the best person would be to contact in terms of purchasing land, construction as well as the contact at the Ministry of Health.

Our group is looking to initially invest approximately $350,000 USD and then after about 2 years invest another $15million USD.

Could someone please give me some insight if you feel this is a viable idea, we are looking to make a medical school the size of Ross and St. George's.

Obviously, this would generate alot of revenue for the country due to multitude of students on the island and the money that they will spend. I also wanted to know what type of tax breaks there are as well as any other financial incentives.

Thanks,

Chris

[Lissa]

Hi Chris, I´m an architect I can help you with this project , contact me at lissa_warden@hotmail.com , lissawarden@yahoo.com
Best regards,
Lissa Feliz

[Chris]

DrVBaSiC, I do not know if there is anyone on this board that can adequately advise you on this. I would suggest that you contact a laywer that most of us trust and respect here - Fabio Guzman.

If you could tell us a little about why you are selecting the DR for the project, we may be able to give you some input. A fellow by the name of Hillbilly knows the educational climate in the DR well and he will no doubt tell you his thoughts on this.

A further thought, where do you think you'd want to establish this project in the DR?

[Dolores]

In addition to the two people mentioned above -- Fabio Guzman and Hillbilly (PUCMM contact)...

You may also contact Elka Scheker at the Center for Investments and Exports. Her email is Elka Scheker

Her job is to attract investments. She is professional and may be able to help you and serve as a liaison in case you meet with any obstacles.

You may also contact Dr. Herbert Stern who has worked with UNIBE medical school that has a large foreigner population. His email is h.stern@codetel.net.do

I strongly suggest you come and down and do your research locally.

[DrVBaSiC]

The reason why we are choosing DR is twofold. The first reason is that from what we have understood the DR is foreign investor friendly, the second reason is that there is already a medical school established on the island, thus it would be easier for us to establish another one because the government by now most probably has seen the economic boost the area gets when more foreigners come and do shopping, spend money at resaurants, rent houses, and apartments, etc etc.

Thank you all very much for all your advice. You have been very helpful. I do plan on coming down to the DR to see the island to decide where exactly we would open the school.

We would like to purchase land near an area where there is access to necessities such as supermarket, restaurants etc. but at the same time the school does not need to be in the center of town. Following the purchase of the land we would need to construct a campus.

Lissa, I would like to talk to you more in depth about this project and if you can email me at drvbasic@aol.com at your earliest convenience I would highly appreciate it.

Dolores thanks for your valuable information and if you have any more insight or comments please feel free to get in contact with me as well or post a message.

Thanks,

Chris

[Tony C]

The Boom days of FMG's in the DR are over!
Back in the 80's there seemed like their was a Med school on every corner. Then the AMA tightened up the licensing process. Now the market has dried up because of that and the Big UCE, UTESA, CIFAS scandles. Right now a Med Degree from the DR brings such bad associations that you are wasting your time if you think you are going to practice in the US or Europe.

[mtt]

Am an experienced realtor. I work all over the Dominican Republic. If the project has any feasibility, I can surely get the land at a reasonable price.

Miguel Tejada Tapia
mtejadatapia@yahoo.com

[DCfred]

.

[lhtown]

Boy, I sure don't know much about medical schools, but I have learned and am still learning a few things about business and Dominican living. Maybe I am reading too much into your post, but It seems to me by your questions that you need to do a tremendous amount of research and find some outstanding Dominican partners to make such a deal work. Then again, I would hope that you already are working on that. It seems to me that anyone who is anyone at all goes out of the country for advanced medical schooling. If you look into Dominican culture and education, there are some very strong reasons for that. That is not to say that it couldn't change. I am not sure if it could change or not in the near or mid term future. If you want some opinions of some truly intelligent educated people, ask some of the good doctors at Clinica Abel Gonzalez or Clinica Abreu or Corazones Unidos all here in Santo Domingo. It seems to me that finding some outstanding Dominican partners would be the key to making the deal work. Be aware, finding good help is difficult, but it is possible and well worth the trouble- particularly with so much at stake.

[ALGS]

You can contact Fabio Guzman at the following email address:

info@drlawyer.com

For any other info regarding the purchase of Real Estate in the Dominican Republic or investing on the DR, visit the Guzman Ariza & asociados website: www.drlawyer.com or www.guzmanariza.com

Good luck on the project

ALGS