STX Question

just dont get sick 😎

Subscribe to one of the services which fly you off island if you need care.

jerry, LOL...a little too late for that isn't it? LOL...

rotorhead,
I have something with my medic alert thing that does do that for me. Thanks for reminding me to read over that stuff again, I had forgotten about it. I suscribed late last year before we came down there.

The stuff I would need there would just be maintenance stuff like I.V. once in a while, nothing fancy. I was hoping that it would be feasible to do that there.

Thanks!
Lori

The medical care available on the island in fine. The Hosp emergency room (I have never had a problem). On the island I use the VA Clinic as my primary care, I use the Heart Center (Dante P. Galiber, M.D.F.A.C.C.), Pediatrician (Justo M. Roman, M.D., Adult family members use (Lyn A. Campbell. M.D.) I know as a fact that if the medical care that's available on the island can't handle your specific needs in case of an emergency they are very capable to stabilize you for Air Ambulance to either PR or Miami. I'm sure some people will tell you horror stories, but I can tell you horror stories about NYC Hospitals.

Thanks Lizard!!
I have some horror stories from out here in the Pacific Northwest too!!

I just wanted to double check and make sure that simple little things could be taken care of there. When I was reading the posts about the lack availability of epidurals during labor I started to wonder about the health care thing (not that I will ever give birth at this age) and so I was trying to anticipate which needs could be met if things came up.

Thanks, this is the kind of stuff that helps. 🙂

Lizard,

Can you tell more about the VA Center? I'm a DAV.

Edward

Moved here last October and had the same questions, needed to find a primary care physician to get prescription renewed, check-up etc. Found several doctors ended up with Dr Prasad (there are others at Beaston Hill) make appt first or wait hours.In June we had a evening accident where the wife ended up at the ER, the hospital was good, not the horror stories I had heard. Price high as most ER's are. All did take our UHC insurance. Hope this helps-

well, through a friend i just recently heard about someone who was in the hospital and they had to bring their own sheets, they forgot to feed this person for a day and when they hooked up the iv, they forgot to turn it on.
i have heard other horror stories too. i have also heard some good stories.

Edward,
The St Croix VA Outpatient Clinic is a Satellite of the San Juan Medical Center for Primary Care Services for Veterans in St Croix. Services that are available at the clinic are, Primary care, Preventive care, Care of Chronic Conditions, Pharmacy, EKG, Laboratory testing. Services that are not available in the clinic can be obtained via referral to local health care specialists. The Clinic is located at the Village Mall # 13, Kings Hill. The Phone Number is (340) 774-6674, The Clinic is Open Monday Thur Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM. Bring your DD214 and a copy of your VA Award letter to Register. Once you are Registered they will schedule you for a complete Physical Exam, Depending on their work load that physical exam could be the same day.

With the local dr's like prasad, they fine as long as you have something like the flu, fever or colds, etc... But it has been my experience that every time I get something more complicated I end up having to go stateside to get it correctly diagnosed and medicated.

the only thing I hate about the local Dr's are they seem to refer you to the another all the time...........like share the wealth mentality.
Dr Prasad is fine like Betty says for easy stuff. My experience with him...........I should have gone to Dr Hess! (Hess is a vet & he would have done better in my opinion)
I miss Dr Braslow!!!!!!! He retired dag nab it...............

The 2 stateside Nurse Practitioner's at Prassads are very good.

I LOVED Dr. Braslow! wish he was still around. Same with Dr. Miller and Dr. Berkely. I generally use Dr. Johnston in Beeston Hill for run of the mill stuff. He usually has an open appoinment. with any doctor here, you're going to be waiting awhile for the appointment. I never understood why if i have an appointment, i have to wait so long! Dr. Pederson, the only orthopedic surgeon, is the worst. he schedules appointments for every 15 minutes and you end up waiting hours. I waited 4 hours when i broke my foot. the ER was MUCH better! I've been having great experiences with the ER recently (yeah, my family is pretty accident prone). Check to see if your insurance is accepted, otherwise you'll have to pay out and wait for reimbursement.

Thanks everyone, this is exactly the kind of information I am looking for.

I would kill to have a general practitioner like Braslow again. He was a great all arounder with a wonderful bedside manor. And always knew when a specialist was better.

He sure is missed. I would have considered him great in the states...in stx he was ten times better! Even his prices were good..you could actually afford to go for a visit even if you did not have insurance.

I would kill to have a general practitioner like Braslow again. He was a great all arounder with a wonderful bedside manor. And always knew when a specialist was better.

Betty,

if you find another one like that, let me know. I wanted to find someone with a pleasant attitude who would be willing monitor my medication dosages. It makes a world of difference when they have a good bedside manor. I will still have docs in NY and Portland that I will need to fly back to about 4 times a year but I need someone there who will be willing to treat me under those conditions.

If I get a good lead on a particular physician, is it a good idea for me to call that person's office to ask some specific questions (if that office isn't too busy to talk to me)?

I don't think its a bad idea. But its always a much better idea to do something like that in person here. Even Braslow's staff (his partner, whom I really liked) could get pretty stressed out and grumpy. If you're going to see a specailist for whatever your condition is I think you would get better treatment and service. I haven't heard of anyone new in a long time. We just seem to keep loosing the few good ones we have.

If you have an difficult illness that requires frequent doctor visits you really MUST do a PMV and see if you can afford the same quality of life down here that you can were you are. Otherwise there are plenty of warm beautiful places stateside. Your health has to come first.

Betty,

You hit the nail on the head with the PMV. When we were there last year I focused on making sure that I could take care of my needs myself while I was there and didn't think about needing to have a physician lined up. I dropped the ball there. We spent our time driving around the whole island, living like a resident and not a tourist, and investigating things to get a feel for areas that we might want to live in and thinking what things would accommodate our lifestyle. While that was a good idea and time wisely spent, I really should have looked into the medical things while I was there.

This time we will be down within the month and will stay until the end of Dec before we come back for year end business stuff and doctor appointments. We plan on looking for a place to purchase during the three months were are there but we aren't going to hurry it because we will come back down in January and can resume looking when we come back.

Medically the only thing I will need is my meds monitored, occasional saline I.V and I.V. nutrition once in a while. My illness doesn't require fancy treatments, chemo, radiation or anything like that. Just need someone to see if we hit a bump in the road like my body deciding to go on a 3-4 week fast without my permission....LOL....

I want to establish a relationship with a doc there that can become familiar enough with my condition in order to avoid being stuffed into the hospital unnecessarily. Hopefully with enough preparation and thought I can find a way to make this happen in a way which works for us.

Thanks,
Lori

The 2 stateside Nurse Practitioner's at Prassads are very good.

Yes, they are excellent!

Sounds like you have a very good plan. Good Luck.

There is a new doctor here. A female from California. I can't remember her name but some friends have told me that she is excellent. She is a family doctor. I will find out her name and number.

There is a new doctor here. A female from California. I can't remember her name but some friends have told me that she is excellent. She is a family doctor. I will find out her name and number.

Thanks Tami!!

i know there is a new doctor in sunny isles across from Island Center. she's indian and people were saying good things about her, so we tried it. my sister went to her for an inner ear infection and she prescribed antibiotics. the medicine was gone in 2 days. when my sister called to double check (it was supposed to last 10 days) the doctor reiterated the dosage but then she called the pharmacist and he stated "she doesn't know the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons - she gets them confused all the time. you should have taken 1 tsp every 4 hours, not 1 tbsp. it should have lasted 10 days" eek! thankfully, it was just antibiotics, not sure how much that could mess you up. sister can't swallow pills, which is why liquid had to be prescribed - just in case you run into a similar scenario with kids.