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redmesa
Senior Nomad
Posts: 580
Registered: 3-12-2008
Location: Van Isle and Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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I have checked into and been insure with a variety of groups. I have called their emergency number before I had an emergency to see how quickly they
answered. There are insurance groups that will helicopter you out of a remote area even. It is amazing that a jet could land at BoLA, awesome.
Unfortunately, many places in Baja have no such landing strip so... For the price it does seem totally advisable but I definitely have a plan B and a
plan C when I am in Baja.
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Evac
I will probably go with DAN, however will also have my SPOT evac insurance as either primary or back-up depending on situation
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JZ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9312
Registered: 10-3-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by redmesa
I have checked into and been insure with a variety of groups. I have called their emergency number before I had an emergency to see how quickly they
answered. There are insurance groups that will helicopter you out of a remote area even. It is amazing that a jet could land at BoLA, awesome.
Unfortunately, many places in Baja have no such landing strip so... For the price it does seem totally advisable but I definitely have a plan B and a
plan C when I am in Baja. |
Which ones.
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redmesa
Senior Nomad
Posts: 580
Registered: 3-12-2008
Location: Van Isle and Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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Good question, JZ. The ones that come to my mind now are skymed, geomed, world insurance... Their names are very similar but I thought it is a
reminder to check carefully and double book. If you are really interested I could look through my papers for names but they are readily available on
the internet. My husband recently died in Hawaii so I am waiting to see if the insurance pays out.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64525
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 24baja
| Quote: | Originally posted by Terry28
Chuckie, I apologize for the smart remark, that was not warranted. I just have never seen the paved air strip there...where is it?
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North of town at the first corner, go straight on dirt road past the school and you will run right into the airport. |
Looking North:
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13165
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
Member Is Offline
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Simply amazing story. Thanks for sharing.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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I was a NAUI certified diver many years ago, but have not kept current. Most of my gear was stolen from my house in Ensenada so I've pretty much only
snorkeled since then.
I looked over the DAN website (thank you for the link) and they cover snorkeling and kayaking in their policy, as well as diving, in their medical
evacuation plans. So I may join before my June trip to Cabo Pulmo, and sign up for their insurance plan.
| Quote: | Originally posted by willardguy
| Quote: | Originally posted by Whale-ista
Wow, this sounds like a great service at a great price!
I'm not familiar with DAN (my SCUBA cert has expired). Do they have a website that explains these policies? And does DAN cover anyone regardless of
age/home/activity? Or do you need to be a participant on a DAN-organized SCUBA trip to purchase this type of medical evacuation insurance?
thank you for sharing with us. |
scuba certificate expired?? whats up with that! |
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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bajaasgal63
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 5-13-2014
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LarryC asked me to reply to some of the questions asked on this forum about my medical evacuation.
Several people referred to DAN insurance. The medical evacuation is a benefit of the DAN membership and NOT from the insurance they offer. You do
not have to be a diver or have a dive related problem with the membership benefits.
Due to MX not allowing night flights into uncontrolled runways the decision was made to wait till morning to evacuate me. Had my situation been life
threatening or deteriorated during the night DAN told me they would have arranged for ground transportation.
*0800 I called DAN with request to transport.
*0903 DAN to me: I am writing from the medical assistance department with Divers Alert Network. I have been working with our medical staff this
morning in regards to locating the closest facility where you would be able to receive a CT Scan.
There are not a lot of options that are anywhere close to where you are located and we are looking at trying to get you to a higher level of care for
further evaluation.
However, before we can move forward with any kind of transfer our medical staff would like to speak with you to obtain further details about the head
injury you sustained. Please call us back as soon as possible.
*1105: DAN to me: I wanted to advise that we are working to get some final logistics together for your air ambulance transfer from Mexico. You are
going to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, Dr. John Roth will be the physician in the ER this evening.
We just got approval to move forward with the air ambulance transfer. I will provide a flight itinerary as soon as it is received from my air
ambulance provider so you know when to arrive at the airport in Bahia.
*1247 DAN to me: I just got confirmation from our air ambulance company that they are on their way to Hermosillo so to fuel the aircraft since they
won’t be able to fuel in Bahia. From Hermosillo to Bahia it is about a 50 minute flight so I will update you once they leave Hermosillo.
*1434 DAN to me: We received information the aircraft will be arriving to the airport in approximately an hour. Please let us know if you have any
questions or if there are any issues with getting to the airport within the next hour.
*1600 the air ambulance arrived.
It did take 8 hours from the initial morning call to the time of aircraft arrival but driving to San Diego would have taken at least that amount of
time. I also did not believe my head would tolerate the jarring.
I have a friend in La Paz, without DAN membership, who had been in the hospital in La Paz but not improving; 2 friends rented a van, hired a nurse,
and drove 22 hours to a hospital in San Diego.
Not perfect but that was a lot of bang for only $35 per year.
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bajaasgal63
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 5-13-2014
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How to sign up for DAN membership & not insurance
diversalertnetwork.org
Page 1. Click on upper right corner: Join/Renew
Page 2. Click on the Join button
Page 3. Enter all your information, click on bottom right of page, blue button: Insurance Choices
Page 4. Near the top of the Membership & Insurance Page there is a drop down box which says: select dive accident coverage. Click on that box
and you will see the bottom option is: No dive accident insurance select that box, then select the Payment box
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17386
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaasgal63
LarryC asked me to reply to some of the questions asked on this forum about my medical evacuation.
...
Not perfect but that was a lot of bang for only $35 per year. |
Interesting,... Glad it worked out for you.
Was there an MD in BOLA verifying your injury and stability for transport? I have always thought that insurers will not dispatch air ambulance
without first speaking to local med personnel to verify injury severity and verify patient is stabilized.
[Edited on 5-14-2014 by mtgoat666]
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1482
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CaboMagic
I see you must be a DAN member to purchase insurance .. but must you be a diver or is this something that began for divers and has expanded ?
Thnx in advance for any info/explaination .. |
Dan is not an insurance company. So you are not buying insurance form them. They are more into dive medicine and research. The membership fee goes to
supporting that research, but also includes the emergency evacuation from anywhere in the world as part of your membership. If you are a diver and
want to be covered for dive related injuries then you can purchase through a DAN affiliate the dive insurance. That is substantially more money.
Hope this helps,
Larry
PS The emergency transportation is the only thing covered by DAN in this story, the hospital stay and tests will have to be paid for by the patient or
their insurance company.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
Posts: 5027
Registered: 9-12-2011
Location: Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Has anyone heard of a "lucid interval"? This is the period in an epidural hematoma where the person sustaining a head injury appears ok. Case in
point, Natasha Richardson. She fell and hit her head while skiing and appeared to be in the "not life threatening" situation. She is dead now,
however. Anyone who loses consciousness is considered to have some type of serious head injury and in my opinion ground transportation should have
been arranged for this person immediately to rule out a deadly injury especially with symptoms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidural_hematoma
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Movies/story?id=7119825
The patient in the above scenario was VERY VERY lucky.
Could we have all health related posts posted in the Health and Wellness Section?
[Edited on 5-14-2014 by EnsenadaDr]
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Does the expensive paved airstrip near San Bruno have military or other flights allowed to land for emergency medical reasons?
20 years ago a teenaged son of an acquaintance was stabbed three times (I believe they were from multiple stingrays) then managed to get tangled up
with a Portuguese man-of-war as he cut a diagonal corner back to the beach. He was medi-vac'd from the mainland. The aircraft personnel told his
mother (aboard) that they had to first land and get processed at customs. BTW one stab opened his thigh to the bone, the second pierced behind his
knee and he lost feeling from the knee down. At the SD int'l I really believe a Customs and Immigration officer would actually meet a medi-vac
aircraft, right in the taxi area. Customs may be a pain-in-the-bung at POE's but they sure show a totally different attitude in a medical emergency -
from the school of hard knocks.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64525
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
Does the expensive paved airstrip near San Bruno have military or other flights allowed to land for emergency medical reasons?
20 years ago a teenaged son of an acquaintance was stabbed three times (I believe they were from multiple stingrays) then managed to get tangled up
with a Portuguese man-of-war as he cut a diagonal corner back to the beach. He was medi-vac'd from the mainland. The aircraft personnel told his
mother (aboard) that they had to first land and get processed at customs. BTW one stab opened his thigh to the bone, the second pierced behind his
knee and he lost feeling from the knee down. At the SD int'l I really believe a Customs and Immigration officer would actually meet a medi-vac
aircraft, right in the taxi area. Customs may be a pain-in-the-bung at POE's but they sure show a totally different attitude in a medical emergency -
from the school of hard knocks. |
Last I heard it was open to civil aviation... called Palo Verde and in the middle of nowhere, almost!
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17386
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by larryC
| Quote: | Originally posted by CaboMagic
I see you must be a DAN member to purchase insurance .. but must you be a diver or is this something that began for divers and has expanded ?
Thnx in advance for any info/explaination .. |
Dan is not an insurance company. So you are not buying insurance form them. |
you say potatoe, i say potato! so DAN members get a benefit that is functionally equivalent to (or very similar to) medivac insurance, eh? do you
think DAN pays for this out of operating funds? or do you think DAN buys it's own insurance to limit it's own risk? wondering....
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bajaasgal63
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 5-13-2014
Member Is Offline
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You are welcome, hopefully my experience will help others.
The membership vs insurance seems to be a very confusing issue for people. The DAN membership includes medical evacuation/assistance... it is NOT an
insurance policy. It is open enrollment for anyone who pays $35 for individual or $55 for a family, you do not need to be a diver or need to be
anywhere near water to use the evacuation/assistance offered thru DAN membership. If you are a diver and want to purchase additional diver's
insurance you may do so but it is not necessary for DAN medical/evacuation. Please see my prior post regarding how to sign up for ONLY membership not
insurance.
Mtgoat666, the membership (vs insurance) evacuation does require a doctor to order the evacuation, since there was no doctor available in town DAN's
doctor spoke to me on the phone and made the decision.
Ensenadadr, I agree I was very very lucky.
The good news is I am doing well, every day there is improvement and the world no longer spins whenever I turn my head.
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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bajaasgal63
Do you know if DAN coordinated with the Sharp Hospital International Patient Services department?????
If so, can you comment on what assistance Sharp provided during your evacuation and transport???
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
Posts: 5027
Registered: 9-12-2011
Location: Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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should have been an immediate ground assistance with ambulance at the very least. I wonder if Antonio's ambulance service is still up and running and
what the closest hospital is to BOLA that handles trauma patients. I guess Cruz Roja is the ambulance service in BOLA. If you don't mind me asking,
what was the final diagnosis? | Quote: | Originally posted by bajaasgal63
You are welcome, hopefully my experience will help others.
The membership vs insurance seems to be a very confusing issue for people. The DAN membership includes medical evacuation/assistance... it is NOT an
insurance policy. It is open enrollment for anyone who pays $35 for individual or $55 for a family, you do not need to be a diver or need to be
anywhere near water to use the evacuation/assistance offered thru DAN membership. If you are a diver and want to purchase additional diver's
insurance you may do so but it is not necessary for DAN medical/evacuation. Please see my prior post regarding how to sign up for ONLY membership not
insurance.
Mtgoat666, the membership (vs insurance) evacuation does require a doctor to order the evacuation, since there was no doctor available in town DAN's
doctor spoke to me on the phone and made the decision.
Ensenadadr, I agree I was very very lucky.
The good news is I am doing well, every day there is improvement and the world no longer spins whenever I turn my head. |
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bajaasgal63
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 5-13-2014
Member Is Offline
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Bajaguy: I can only assume DAN coordinated with the International Patient Service Dept as the director, Jackie Schwoerke, met me in the ER shortly
after I arrived. A delightful person.
Ensenadadr: I completely agree with you about needing to be transported right away as did my radiologist friend and the 2 family member physicians
involved. Had I been in the States I would have called 911. It was a betwixt and between situation. My estimate is it would have been close to 0300
by the time all arrangements were made and an ambulance arrived, then an 8-10 hr drive at minimum to Tijuana, which was the closest CT machine. Never
having used DAN evacuation before I did not know how long it would take to get an air ambulance to Bahia. Believe me, it was not a restful decision
but made the most sense with the information we had at that time. I am very fortunate the CT was negative. I was extremely impressed with DAN, the
personnel and the service they offered. Living or vacationing off grid so to speak has its challenges and risks. I find great comfort knowing DAN is
there even in a remote place without many options.
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
Posts: 5027
Registered: 9-12-2011
Location: Baja California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Wow that is certainly sobering that the closest CT scan was in Tijuana. But didn't you mention you had a radiology friend? Was this a physician or
just a radiology tech? | Quote: | Originally posted by bajaasgal63
You are welcome, hopefully my experience will help others.
The membership vs insurance seems to be a very confusing issue for people. The DAN membership includes medical evacuation/assistance... it is NOT an
insurance policy. It is open enrollment for anyone who pays $35 for individual or $55 for a family, you do not need to be a diver or need to be
anywhere near water to use the evacuation/assistance offered thru DAN membership. If you are a diver and want to purchase additional diver's
insurance you may do so but it is not necessary for DAN medical/evacuation. Please see my prior post regarding how to sign up for ONLY membership not
insurance.
Mtgoat666, the membership (vs insurance) evacuation does require a doctor to order the evacuation, since there was no doctor available in town DAN's
doctor spoke to me on the phone and made the decision.
Ensenadadr, I agree I was very very lucky.
The good news is I am doing well, every day there is improvement and the world no longer spins whenever I turn my head. |
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