BajaNomad

Fidepaz Hospital La Paz - a report

bajalinda - 7-12-2012 at 08:55 PM

Well, folks, last week I had an unfortunate accident here at the ranch and ended up having to spend the night at Fidepaz hospital in La Paz (otherwise known as the purple hospital or Central de Especialidades Medicas). So I thought I'd write out a brief report for those of you who are interested in what this medical facility has to offer.

I took a fall on some rocks at the beach here and really hit my head hard - so hard that I only vaguely remember staggering back to the house to get help, then I have a complete blank until later that night. My hubby got me right into the hospital and I was admitted and tended to by 2 doctors - the general admitting hospital doctor and my own regular doctor who has his office there, Dr. Buenaventura Diaz. I'm told I had all the classic behavior of someone with a concussion (which is what I had) and was giving everyone a hard time. They gave me a fancy x-ray called an x-ray tomography which showed, fortunately, that there was no further damage. This was in a machine that you slide into and it took a series of several different angles of "photos" of my head.

I was in the hospital for just under 24 hours and the bill came to $20,000.00MN - not exactly a bargain, but I imagine much less than the bill would have been north of the border. This included the doctor's fees, the hospital stay, one meal, medications, an IV drip, the x-ray tomography, a lab blood test, medical supplies, a stitch for the gash in my head, etc. everything.

So all in all, we were very satisfied with the care provided by this hospital. The doctors and nurses were all very caring and professional. Hubby was also very pleased to see the new x-ray tomography machine which is a great improvement over the old clunky x-ray machine they used to have.

bajaguy - 7-12-2012 at 08:59 PM

What did they feed you???

DianaT - 7-12-2012 at 09:15 PM

Glad you are ok! I know how scary a fall can be.

Good information about the hospital.

Marc - 7-12-2012 at 10:26 PM

Diana, Be careful for a while. A knock on he head like that can bite you in a few days. Thanks for the report. I think 20,000MX is a bargain compared to NOB.
Marco

BajaBlanca - 7-13-2012 at 07:21 AM

that was a good idea to post a report on the hospital. thanks.

hope you are all recovered.

oladulce - 7-13-2012 at 09:01 AM

Yikes bajalinda, you must have really wacked your noggin! Glad you're doing better.

Thanks for the great review of the hospital and it's services.

CP - 7-13-2012 at 10:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaguy
What did they feed you???


That was my first question, too.

We appreciate the hospital review. Have heard similar positive reports about the Fide Paz hospital.

Take it easy bajalinda!

MitchMan - 7-13-2012 at 01:54 PM

bajalinda, hope that you are recuperating well. Sounds like a really nasty fall. Glad to hear there wasn't further damage as reported by the x-ray.

Is that hospital a public hospital? Would Seguros Populares insurance have paid all or part of the $20,000 MXN had you had that insurance?

prorader - 7-13-2012 at 03:30 PM

I think this is a private hospital. I read somewhere that there is a new public hospital, can't find it. If it is a private hospital SP will not pay, only public hospitals. I just found the post the hospital is 'Salvatierra in La Paz, that is suppost to be the new public hospital

[Edited on 7-13-2012 by prorader]

Mulegena - 7-13-2012 at 03:49 PM

There's a beautiful new hospital on a big campus out there by Home Depot. My husband's cousin just graduated nurse's college in La Paz. He's now employed there.

Bajatripper - 7-13-2012 at 04:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by prorader
I think this is a private hospital. I read somewhere that there is a new public hospital, can't find it. If it is a private hospital SP will not pay, only public hospitals. I just found the post the hospital is 'Salvatierra in La Paz, that is suppost to be the new public hospital

[Edited on 7-13-2012 by prorader]


You probably won't be able to make this out so it won't be of any help, but here's a Google image on which I've marked the location of Soriana's here in La Paz and also the location of the new Salvatierra Hospital.

From Soriana's, go west on Donaldo Colosio Blvd and turn left at the first stopsign, which will be Paseo de los Deportistas (a three-way stop), follow that through the next stopsign (must be the better part of a mile) and you'll come to the new hospital on the right, just ahead.

prorader - 7-13-2012 at 04:54 PM

That is the new public hospital, Sergeo Popular, the other one talked about is a private hospital. This great A new public hospital I bet it has all of the goodies

bajalinda - 7-13-2012 at 07:03 PM

Yes, Fidepaz is a private hospital. The reason we went there is that we have no real faith or confidence in the emergency services at Salvatierra - especially after a friend of ours and member of this board had a horrible experience in the emergency room there. I think Salvatierra (which, yes, is a brand new hospital) would be perfectly OK for a scheduled and planned surgery or procedure with a surgeon/doctor who you had confidence in, but we didn’t want to go there for emergency services.

As for the food at Fidepaz, I had a wonderful delicious breakfast of tea, apple juice, and jello – yippee! I was scheduled for lunch, but we canceled it since I was all ready to leave. I think lunch probably would have been more substantial since I had kept the breakfast down with no problem. I was going to spare you all the boring and yucky details, but the reason for such a bland liquid meal was that I had pretty much tossed my cookies all the way to the hospital the previous afternoon – hey, you asked, sorry, but that’s what happened.

Thank you for your kind words and well wishes. Yep, it was a nasty fall, but I’m feeling a whole lot better and pretty much back to normal though I’m sure some friends and family will insist that I was never really normal – ha!

Oh – also, the rooms at Fidepaz are private with private bathroom, TV (if you want to watch it), and call buttons that are within reach of the bed and also in the bathroom. There also is a couch in the room where hubby slept overnight.

Paula - 7-13-2012 at 07:11 PM

My husband was in Fidepaz for 5 days two years ago. It was a serious event, and I'm glad that that is where we ended up. Cost was less at that time, and his American insurance covered it, reluctantly. The problem was just that things were itemized and not coded in the US way. We badgered them, and they came through. I wouldn't go anyplace else in La Paz, although a friend who was in a horrific accident with very complex and long term care was very happy with Salvatierra, and really it is amazing that he is alive today!

[Edited on 7-14-2012 by Paula]

bajalinda - 7-14-2012 at 07:48 PM

Right Paula - we also know other people who would never think of going anywhere other than Salvatierra. It's just a personal choice/preference. Glad that both your husband and friend came through their events OK.

Paula - 7-14-2012 at 09:56 PM

Just to be clear, our first choice would always be Fidepaz. Our friend had great results with Salvatierra-- we are so glad he is here to tell about it!

[Edited on 7-15-2012 by Paula]