Recently we heard about a couple in the news who were driving their rental car from Samana to Las Americas and experienced a horrific car accident. Killing one and seriously injuring another. The woman who was seriously injured was taken to the hospital and died several days later. Let me ask you. What kind of care was she given? Was she given any at all? She arrived alone at the hospital with no docs, money or anything. What kind of care would anyone receive if they were to arrive at a hospital in DR injured or with life threatening illness?
- Thread starter Mcinbrass
- Start date
Emergency Medical Care in DR
If your talking about the american couple that was just identified.
1.car has not been retrieved yet so dont know what happened. lots of speculation though.
2. the lady was taken to Dario Contreras which is the public trauma center.
3. she would have received treatment as its public ID or not. Quality of treatment ?
1.car has not been retrieved yet so dont know what happened. lots of speculation though.
2. the lady was taken to Dario Contreras which is the public trauma center.
3. she would have received treatment as its public ID or not. Quality of treatment ?
Her chances of good care in a public were slim.
Nobody...NOBODY....in this country goes there unattended.
Always a family member to watch and care
Nobody...NOBODY....in this country goes there unattended.
Always a family member to watch and care
I do not think anyone will be able to provide the specifics regarding the treatment of the patient you mention. In general, the quality of medical care in this country is dependent on several factors.
1) Which medical facility you end up at
2) If you arrive in a state where you can communicate your treatment wishes
3) The equipment/doctors/medicines available at the time you present
All hospitals, public and private are supposed to provide life sustaining care for anyone that arrives at their door. Whether they do or not, whether they are compelled to do that or not I can't say for certain.
If you can speak, give instructions, offer a payment method or give instructions to be transferred to a more appropriate facility, you may make out better than if you are just a lump of unidentified, unresponsive and presumed uninsured flesh.
If you have health insurance, always carry the card (or a copy) with you. Have a short written contact list with one or two people the authorities can contact in your wallet. Those contacts should understand your treatment wishes, and have access to your insurance details. I also used to carry a short set of instructions about my primary care if I arrive unable to communicate that should remove any doubt that I am prepared and able to pay, I wish to have my life prolonged until either myself or my family can give further instructions and that I am not allergic to any medications.
What I finally decided was the best solution for me - I purchased a generic medicalert bracelet and neck chain offering an answering service capable of communicating in Spanish for a fixed lifetime fee. The jewelry does not look as if it is made from gold, is clearly identifiable as being purposed as a medicalalert notification. My profile contains my contacts, my insurance details, and my basic current medical history - what drugs I am taking, what conditions I suffer from and my medical instructions until family can get involved. Hopefully the good Samaritans will overlook this jewelry as being of no value when they safeguard my wallet, shoes, cellphone and cash and human dignity.
1) Which medical facility you end up at
2) If you arrive in a state where you can communicate your treatment wishes
3) The equipment/doctors/medicines available at the time you present
All hospitals, public and private are supposed to provide life sustaining care for anyone that arrives at their door. Whether they do or not, whether they are compelled to do that or not I can't say for certain.
If you can speak, give instructions, offer a payment method or give instructions to be transferred to a more appropriate facility, you may make out better than if you are just a lump of unidentified, unresponsive and presumed uninsured flesh.
If you have health insurance, always carry the card (or a copy) with you. Have a short written contact list with one or two people the authorities can contact in your wallet. Those contacts should understand your treatment wishes, and have access to your insurance details. I also used to carry a short set of instructions about my primary care if I arrive unable to communicate that should remove any doubt that I am prepared and able to pay, I wish to have my life prolonged until either myself or my family can give further instructions and that I am not allergic to any medications.
What I finally decided was the best solution for me - I purchased a generic medicalert bracelet and neck chain offering an answering service capable of communicating in Spanish for a fixed lifetime fee. The jewelry does not look as if it is made from gold, is clearly identifiable as being purposed as a medicalalert notification. My profile contains my contacts, my insurance details, and my basic current medical history - what drugs I am taking, what conditions I suffer from and my medical instructions until family can get involved. Hopefully the good Samaritans will overlook this jewelry as being of no value when they safeguard my wallet, shoes, cellphone and cash and human dignity.
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The Dario Contreras is basically the #1 public trauma center in the country. They get a very high volume of patients (not all documented but treated anyways), pretty much all in bad condition. I have a friend who has a friend that's studying to be a doctor and her class had to spend several months shadowing and working in the ER there. It isn't for the faint hearted. That said, she did say that she was impressed with the level of service provided for a public hospital. Is it up to par with any hospital in first-world countries, no. Are there worse public hospitals in the DR, heck yes. Would I voluntarily choose this hospital if I had a choice, nope!
but your last sentence is true for most of the clinics such as Abreu and many others. you have to have somebody in attendance. Only one I know of in Santo Domingo is CEDEMAT where I did not have to have in attendance (chest center) after heart attack an once spent the night in ER for observation. Abreu had to have my sister-in-laws there as the brother-in-laws were all working. I remember mountain annie had someone staying with her for about a week at Abreu an others I know of at various other Clinics..
True - I guess
CMC is where I go... ,unattended
In some clinics... you need to bring your pillow / sheets/etc
CMC is where I go... ,unattended
In some clinics... you need to bring your pillow / sheets/etc
CMC is where you voluntarily choose to go when you are ambulatory. Suffer a grill drill with injuries on Hwy 5 heading back from Playero, the chances are good that you won't end up at CMC.
My advice for anyone who is traveling in the DR is to carry the American Express card- since it accepted at all the hospitals and has an unlimited credit line -
stories -
a neighbor in Las Terrenas fell down one story as the wooden stairway collapsed underneath him. I stayed with him while the MD was sent for. The landlord called the medical chopper and had to pay cash (and a LOT) of it - to have him transported to SD. Serge got the morphine shot and was put into the back of a pick up truck with pillows - off to Santo Domingo - met at the airport with an ambulance - taken to Abreu. He was French - had no insurance, no credit cards - nada. They refused him - requiring a US $1500 deposit. I called the landlord and asked if they would reimburse me and he said yes. So I put down my Amex card. (I stayed nearby for two days - he had friends in the Capital and his wife flew in from France quickly - he had a broken pelvis and was operated on- took 3 months of recovery before he could travel back to France. The doctors said that the operation in the DR was as good as anything that he would have gotten in France. That was Dr Domino at Abreu - who is reputed to be the best orthopedic surgeon. ) The landlord did indeed reimbursement but I was prepared for the possibility that he would not.
In another year - a dear French friend of mine in LT saw Serge and said that they had a mutual friend in me - his response "I would walk on my knees across the dark side of the moon for her"
In Abreu -
I checked myself in after a trip to Haiti and then a drive up to Constanza - in August - when I got back to my apartment and could feel my pulse throbbing in my legs. Put on my backpack - grabbed my AMEX - walked to Abreu and slapped it down - ADMIT ME. Within 30 minutes I had had various X Rays, eeeKkkggggss and was ensconced in a private room on the top floor - glorious AC, mini fridge, luxurious bathroom. Full time docs and nurses... The next day - the doc said I was OK - just a bit of heat stroke - needed the infusion - I could go BUT I could not live in the DR without AC in August. So I asked if I still had money on the account? And how much would it cost to stay another nite? And could I? Called my former landlord/buddy - had him come over and buy an AC and have it installed.
I was in Abreu at least 3 - maybe even 4 times during my 14 years there. I would not go anywhere else because Abreu is where the Peace Corp sends their volunteers. It may not be the fanciest place but by reputation - and according to both the US State Department and all the French in Las Terrenas - they have the best medical staff.
I believe that Abreu sends the heart patients over to Cedimat?
I had a friend who was in Hospital which is like a luxury hotel. Very modern and American - but I went for a blood test - just because I was queasy after a trip to Haiti and wanted to get checked for who knows what and they did a full panel work up and charged me $300. (A full panel blood work costs about $300 PESOS) - so - no Hospital for me...
Of course if you have local insurance you are good to go.
But American Express?
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
stories -
a neighbor in Las Terrenas fell down one story as the wooden stairway collapsed underneath him. I stayed with him while the MD was sent for. The landlord called the medical chopper and had to pay cash (and a LOT) of it - to have him transported to SD. Serge got the morphine shot and was put into the back of a pick up truck with pillows - off to Santo Domingo - met at the airport with an ambulance - taken to Abreu. He was French - had no insurance, no credit cards - nada. They refused him - requiring a US $1500 deposit. I called the landlord and asked if they would reimburse me and he said yes. So I put down my Amex card. (I stayed nearby for two days - he had friends in the Capital and his wife flew in from France quickly - he had a broken pelvis and was operated on- took 3 months of recovery before he could travel back to France. The doctors said that the operation in the DR was as good as anything that he would have gotten in France. That was Dr Domino at Abreu - who is reputed to be the best orthopedic surgeon. ) The landlord did indeed reimbursement but I was prepared for the possibility that he would not.
In another year - a dear French friend of mine in LT saw Serge and said that they had a mutual friend in me - his response "I would walk on my knees across the dark side of the moon for her"
In Abreu -
I checked myself in after a trip to Haiti and then a drive up to Constanza - in August - when I got back to my apartment and could feel my pulse throbbing in my legs. Put on my backpack - grabbed my AMEX - walked to Abreu and slapped it down - ADMIT ME. Within 30 minutes I had had various X Rays, eeeKkkggggss and was ensconced in a private room on the top floor - glorious AC, mini fridge, luxurious bathroom. Full time docs and nurses... The next day - the doc said I was OK - just a bit of heat stroke - needed the infusion - I could go BUT I could not live in the DR without AC in August. So I asked if I still had money on the account? And how much would it cost to stay another nite? And could I? Called my former landlord/buddy - had him come over and buy an AC and have it installed.
I was in Abreu at least 3 - maybe even 4 times during my 14 years there. I would not go anywhere else because Abreu is where the Peace Corp sends their volunteers. It may not be the fanciest place but by reputation - and according to both the US State Department and all the French in Las Terrenas - they have the best medical staff.
I believe that Abreu sends the heart patients over to Cedimat?
I had a friend who was in Hospital which is like a luxury hotel. Very modern and American - but I went for a blood test - just because I was queasy after a trip to Haiti and wanted to get checked for who knows what and they did a full panel work up and charged me $300. (A full panel blood work costs about $300 PESOS) - so - no Hospital for me...
Of course if you have local insurance you are good to go.
But American Express?
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
Abreu changed hands a few years ago.... several years ago
Still there but new owners and more $$$ I am told
Still there but new owners and more $$$ I am told
I doubt that new owners would change the medical staff
but one does not have choice really in emergency care
the advice on emergency care was simply to have the AMEX card..
My friend always had an ICE - in case of emergency - number in her phone..but did not know if Dominicans would know that. Tourists always have the option of checking in with their respective embassies upon arrival - I belive - not a bad idea.
ALWAYS carry a photo copy of your passport and name and contact number for your next of kin
maybe this sounds over dramatic
not dramatic
sensible
CMC in Sosua is a private clinic - not a public hospital.
Dario Contreras looks like an exception but, in general, the public hospitals are substandard at best. If you have no ID on you you will be taken to a public hospital.
Clinics like CMC will provide some basic emergency care, but you will be sent to a public hospital as soon as possible. I know of one or two cases where accident victims died enroute(or shortly thereafter) from CMC to a public hospital in Pto. Plata.
There's a very good reason why anyone with insurance goes to a private clinic and not a public hospital.
Dario Contreras looks like an exception but, in general, the public hospitals are substandard at best. If you have no ID on you you will be taken to a public hospital.
Clinics like CMC will provide some basic emergency care, but you will be sent to a public hospital as soon as possible. I know of one or two cases where accident victims died enroute(or shortly thereafter) from CMC to a public hospital in Pto. Plata.
There's a very good reason why anyone with insurance goes to a private clinic and not a public hospital.
i really do not know what there is to say. DR is not the first world and the care level here is not going to be the same as in USA, japan or sweden. but there is no doubt that local hospitals - including the public ones - are pulling all the strings they can, no matter how short and thin, in order to save the patients. i know many folks who lived through the residency in dominican public hospitals and they all agree it's as bad as people think and then some. yet they all said that they work as hard as possible in every case, with their limited resources.
besides, the emergency care is pretty much what it says on the can. if you had an accident and your leg is hanging on a strip of skin you're gonna need help as soon as possible. just be glad it's there. that's not a situation where you can wait to take a next flight home. if you have dominican health insurance , or at least the money - all the better. if not - best of luck, try not to die.
besides, the emergency care is pretty much what it says on the can. if you had an accident and your leg is hanging on a strip of skin you're gonna need help as soon as possible. just be glad it's there. that's not a situation where you can wait to take a next flight home. if you have dominican health insurance , or at least the money - all the better. if not - best of luck, try not to die.
If she was thrown from the vehicle she probably had Internal injuries ... If she was wandering around on the highway disoriented she could have had a chance in a US Hospital ...
I am shocked that she survived in a Dom Hospital all those days ...and I highly doubt she received the BEST medical care during that time ... in the USA she would have had a Chance ... over there .. closer to zero, which is exactly how it ended .
Not placing blame on anyone, but there has to be a better system for finding the family of an INJURED Foreigner/ Tourist or Expat .. there has to be .... but as She had no ID so that really destroyed her chances .
Really starting to think that Dog tags with Medical history and Family contact info may bot be such a bad idea while traveling in a country like the DR .
There was a story on the North Coast of a BIKER hitting a man , and injuring him seriously,, The Biker was in a Club and the story goes that they pooled up like $5000 USD Cash very fast , and delivered it to the Hospital to make SURE the man was taken care of .. or he surely would have died ..
The story details have probably changed as its been a few years but the story itself is true .. without that Cash Delivery , that guy was as good as dead , and his family would have found out about it after the fact when he was on a slab .
I am shocked that she survived in a Dom Hospital all those days ...and I highly doubt she received the BEST medical care during that time ... in the USA she would have had a Chance ... over there .. closer to zero, which is exactly how it ended .
Not placing blame on anyone, but there has to be a better system for finding the family of an INJURED Foreigner/ Tourist or Expat .. there has to be .... but as She had no ID so that really destroyed her chances .
Really starting to think that Dog tags with Medical history and Family contact info may bot be such a bad idea while traveling in a country like the DR .
I think we ALL know the answer to that ...
There was a story on the North Coast of a BIKER hitting a man , and injuring him seriously,, The Biker was in a Club and the story goes that they pooled up like $5000 USD Cash very fast , and delivered it to the Hospital to make SURE the man was taken care of .. or he surely would have died ..
The story details have probably changed as its been a few years but the story itself is true .. without that Cash Delivery , that guy was as good as dead , and his family would have found out about it after the fact when he was on a slab .
I'm sure they did did the best they could do with what they have. You can't expect public hospitals here to have all the latest diagnostic and life saving equipment that a hospital in the US would have.
Blood given? Ha! My wife was in a serious accident two years ago and was taken to Centro Medico Bournegal. This is probably the best private clinic in Puerto Plata. It took two days looking for volunteers to donate blood for her.
You're not in Kansas anymore. If you're at home and have a heart attack and live more than 15 minutes from a good private clinic - you're probably going to die.
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I think the Autopsy will be a real Eye opener ... .If she had internal Injuries which were NOT attended to , and NO Operations were performed to even attempt to save her ... I think we know what conclusions to reach at that point ..
but lets see what the Autopsy says , and how a " Gravely injured" person survived that many days in a Public Dom Hospital..
Exactly,..
and they leave KIDS hooked up to IV's so they cant RUN AWAY before the family pays the Bill.
but lets see what the Autopsy says , and how a " Gravely injured" person survived that many days in a Public Dom Hospital..
Exactly,..
and they leave KIDS hooked up to IV's so they cant RUN AWAY before the family pays the Bill.
Perhaps we can get some people with real inside knowledge on exactly how this system works. i.e doctors nurses hospital personnel to enlighten us. Or is there are folks out there with real firsthand knowledge.