2 Questions

1. Even reading what is in DR1 and in this message board - what is the actual time zone now for DR - Eastern Standard or Atlantic Standard? I have a charter ticket for 12/30 and I don't know how long the flight actually is.

2. What is the best private medical facility particularly emergency medicine in Sto. Domingo?

I have heard that the public hospital is not safe and in the event of a medical emergency there are several private hospitals (pay as you go) that are more modern and better equipped and staffed. I may be travelling with a friend who is a bit frail and he is reluctant to go to DR (or Cuba) owing to perceived lack of ANY decent emergency medical care in either country - for cardiac emergency, specifically.

Last time I ws in DR someone mentioned quite a good place but I cannot find the name.

We are currently on Atlantic Standard time.....same as Puerto Rico.

Medical facilities....there are a few (and I mean very few):
UCE
Plaza Salud
Corazones Unidos

If you are in Toronto, we are one hour ahead of you. Medical assistance can be fine depending where you are, but it is not cheap. If you come, please please please buy the travel insurance offered to you. The 40 bucks you pay in Canada can save you thousands of dollars here. I speak from the experience of other canadians--my husband is the consul here, and the Canadian gov't will not bail you out!

LifeFlight

The last time I was in the DR, I met a man who had suffered a serious hand injury (Severed tendons etc). He said you can quickly arrange a slick to take you to San JUan Puerto Rico where US Standard Health Care could be found.

I don't know the arrangements, but I would verify services prior to travelling

Of the 3 mentioned by Dr. ECH which would you recommend to a fellow Canadian? I would hope theconsul would have a good idea.

3 or 4 answers

You can add the Clinica Abreu and the Clinica Gomez-Pati?o to the list. Both in Santo Domingo, and, like the list from Dr. ECH, they are good places. Pick any one and visit it before anything happens.
I would certainly take a policy that included MedEvac. The few dollars you will pay are thousands less than the costs involved.
It costs nearly US$9,000 to Med Evac a patient to Miami. Make sure your insurance covers Emergency Care.
Hoping nothing happens, but there is a Dominican saying that loosely translated says: A cautious man is worth twice his weight.

HB

Re: 3 or 4 answers

Thanks for the response and sorry for the delay in saying so, cable internet is grat until they are off line for 3 days straight.

He has evac coverage through work , $100,000 US plus unlimited medical coverage out of country, over and above the $12 that the Provincial plan would pay first.

Good for 30 days at a time. So for a week, great.

I will add the 2 names to the list and make sure the driver I use who lives in SDO knows where they are.

Ranking of 5 choices- Best ones?

I have been provided courtesy of Hillbilly and Dr. ECH:

UCE
Plaza Salud
Corazones Unidos
Clinica Abreau
Clinica Gomez-Patino

In an emergency - which one first?
For routine care, which one most sensible, if differnet?

They are all good choices. We take our son to see a pediatrician at the Clinica Abreau when needed. Certainly not up to Canadian standards re technology and visuals, but just fine.

Re: Ranking of 5 choices- Best ones?

THIS IS EASY......
Go to the nearest medical facility in an EMERGENCY. It just might save your life.
Otherwise, you have listed them in pretty good rank yourself.
Hope you don't have to use them or any medical facility anywhere.

Re: 3 or 4 answers

I can back up Hillbilly?s listing of Clinica Abreu.
My girlfriend had to stay there for three nights with a problem with her intestines. The treatment was nice, there were English speaking doctors and they seemed to be well equipped.

It?s not cheap though. So like others already said, take care of the insurance

Cheers,

Marco