hospital ladrones

amp

Bronze
Oct 5, 2010
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so about a week ago i was in el campo at a very nice estate with quite a bit of land. my friend and i decided to go down into the forest and get some oranges and bananas to bring back to the city.

while down there we decided to enjoy one of the bananas. now the isn?t really a banana as my dominican friend tells me, i forget the name but it is something maduro. anyways, i ate it and it was very sweet and delicious, my friend and his family also ate them.

now fastforward two days and i?m (excuse my language) sh*ting p*ss. my friends family is fine but im quite sick. so we let a day pass to see if things get better, they dont. i?m vommiting now.

so we go to a private hospital. i?m in this hospital for 2 hours and the gave me a tiny bag of liquid intravenously.

after all is said and done, i left that hospital with more symptoms than i had when i entered! when i left i had a terrible fever which i hadn?t had before for 3 days of being sick. anyways, these theifs charge me RD$2,500 for their services.

now to the good part about the dr.

after a few more days of being sick i went to a public hospital where a friend of the family works. here they gave me the same exact medicine intravenously in a bag almost three times as big! and i had three full bags! and guess how much they charged me for this and 5 hours in the hospital? not a damn peso!!!

thanks god for bella vista in santiago.

now if i could only get over this stomache infection...
 

bachata

Aprendiz de todo profesional de nada
Aug 18, 2007
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Yes public hospital system in DR is free even for Haitians and people of other nationalities with no migratory status checked required.
My grand son was in need of a surgery that would cost RD $ 400,000. pesos at Union Medica.
Same doctors did it for free at Hospital Arturo Grullon (Hospital de ninos)

JJ
 
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Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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I am surprised that foreigners who are not poverty cases are able to get good service at public hospitals. And at no charge. Reports I get from Dominicans are that there are not enough beds, the hospital often lacks the necessary medicine and Dominicans must buy their own, etc., etc.

I hope better care is not being provided foreigners who are not poverty cases than is provided the poor Dominicans for whom the public hospitals are primarily intended.
 

bachata

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Aug 18, 2007
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I am surprised that foreigners who are not poverty cases are able to get good service at public hospitals. And at no charge. Reports I get from Dominicans are that there are not enough beds, the hospital often lacks the necessary medicine and Dominicans must buy their own, etc., etc.

I hope better care is not being provided foreigners who are not poverty cases than is provided the poor Dominicans for whom the public hospitals are primarily intended.
If you are referring to my grandson let me tell you that he would be starving if my mother or my self don't buy a milk can this week as the mother doesn't work and the father is in jail.

JJ
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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495
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If you are referring to my grandson let me tell you that he would be starving if my mother or my self don't buy a milk can this week as the mother doesn't work and the father is in jail.

JJ


Bachata, nothing personal intended. And obviously your grandson should be treated by the public hospital. However, your statement that care is "free even for Haitians and people of other nationalities with no migratory status checked required" seems to open the doors to more than the poverty stricken.

It is true that I was wondering when I read amp's post whether he is in the same boat as your grandson, but mainly I felt something should be said so that one and all who post on dr1 didn't interpret your statement to mean that from now on they can save money on medical care by going to a public hospital.
 

bachata

Aprendiz de todo profesional de nada
Aug 18, 2007
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I flew to DR last year to be present when my grand kid was in the hospital and I can tell you that no one with enough economy resource wants to be in a hospital where 20 patients stay in a room designed for 5, where the nurses and hospital security guards trait people same as if they are animals.
we have to take our kid to this hospital because we didn't have that money to save him life.
My daughter destroyed her life and our family's peace running after a thief when she was only sixteen.
thanks god the guy is behind bars finally.

I hope the police through away the key of his cell...

JJ
 

amp

Bronze
Oct 5, 2010
730
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It is true that I was wondering when I read amp's post whether he is in the same boat as your grandson, but mainly I felt something should be said so that one and all who post on dr1 didn't interpret your statement to mean that from now on they can save money on medical care by going to a public hospital.

if im complaining about RD$2,500 do you think im very well off? i came down here with a hope and a dream and a few dollars in my pocket and cant afford much.

im praising the system they have here in the dr because we dont have it in the usa. for the same treatment i recieved for free i would have paid at least US$100, AT LEAST.

im sure some people take advantage of the system in place because it is vulnerable. however you wont get much out of it. at these public hospitals everyone pretty much gets the same treatment and there was only one very unexperienced doctor tending to EVERYONE in the hospital.

in essence, not much to take advantage of. the doctor at the private hospital i went to prescribed me medicine which did help a little. when i went to the public hospital the doctor there also prescribed me medicine, but much different. i went to the pharmacy with both prescriptions and the worker at the pharmacy laughed at the public clinic doctors recommendations.

you definetly have a huge difference in care, however, just to have a free hospital available is a blessing in itself.
 

belmont

Bronze
Oct 9, 2009
1,536
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im praising the system they have here in the dr because we dont have it in the usa. for the same treatment i recieved for free i would have paid at least US$100, AT LEAST.

You would have received care in any hospital in the US without regard to your ability to pay. If you are truly indigent, you would have been covered by charity care. I would much prefer to be cared for by a Dominican private hospital and arrange a payment plan (they usually will hold your passport until payments are completed) than languish in a Dominican public hospital.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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i have a dominican health insurance from the very beggining of my stay here so i am not too worried about hospital costs.
i would only use public hospital if there was no other choice because normally they ain't verry pretty. i have nothing against gringos using dominican public health system thou, it is for everyone after all. and not all gringos bathe in cash or have thought about getting insurance...
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Public health system is free to EVERYONE as it should be. As already mentioned though you don't really that much out of it. You normally have to buy your own prescriptions and sometimes even the basics such as gauze and syringes (due to lack of resources provided by the government).

It looks like the first place you went to was a private clinic (not a hospital). Those are still cheap compared to The US or Canada, but are getting more and more expensive every day. Still if you have the money you want to go to one of those if you need care. If you live in The DR or spend a significant amount of time down there then you definitely should get insurance, as that is definitely wayyy cheaper than The US and can provide very good coverage. For instance I pay 3500 Pesos every trimester to cover two people. They are FULLY covered and the insurance is accepted pretty much everywhere. An excellent deal I think.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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that is my best advice for all gringos here: get the insurance. and no offence to all BUPA fans out there but it is better to get a dominican insurance. you save yourself a lot of trouble because i am sure as hell all hospitals and doctors will frown at "international insurance" and find any reason not to take it.
 
Jan 3, 2003
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It is for everyone after all. and not all gringos bathe in cash or have thought about getting insurance...

Gringos in the DR who are worse off than the Dominicans need to have their heads examined. I believe half their brain is missing due to plasmodiums ingesting it.