Hospitals in Jamaica

[CKN]

Spare me. Florida and the Texas coast don't come with Level 2 Travel Restrictions from the State Department. If you're willing to pay more for that, you're nuts.

Thanks, but Florida and Texas works just fine for me...... As well as millions of other Americans who don't like foreign, corrupt, crime ridden stink holes. Perhaps you should book your next vacation to Mogadishu. The Summer rates should be kicking in right about now.

Now, you are more than welcome to go right ahead and try to B.S. all this away....

"As of early 2026, the U.S. Department of State advises exercising increased caution (Level 2) in Jamaica due to high crime, limited medical care, and storm recovery".

"Violent crime, including sexual assault, is common, even at resorts".

"Do not use public buses (including "route taxis") and avoid driving between cities after dark".

"Medical care is limited, and specialized care may not be available outside major areas".

https://www.google.com/search?q=Jam...j33i671l4.16581j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...traveladvisories/jamaica-travel-advisory.html

• "Violent crime is a risk throughout Jamaica. The homicide rate reported by the Government of Jamaica is among the highest in the Western Hemisphere".

"Armed robberies and sexual assaults are common".

• "The U.S. embassy routinely receives reports of sexual assaults, including from U.S. citizen tourists at resorts".

"U.S. citizens report slow or unsatisfactory response to serious criminal incidents".

• • "When arrests are made, cases are often not prosecuted to a final verdict and sentence."

I have been to 40 countries. I'm not one to put myself at risk. I have been to Jamaica 4 times. The resorts are fine. One just needs to exercise common sense. I have also been to Saint Petersburg, Russia, the Baltic States, Brazil, Peru-when there were troops walking around with automatic weapons, up the Amazon to Manuas, Brazil. Also Egypt and Turkey just to name a few. This is the issue with many in this country-they don't leave the U.S and have zero sense of perspective in regards to the rest of the people that inhabit our planet.

I can tell you that Egypt and Turkey are not dominating the world scene anytime soon.
Your attitude is not uncommon.

If you use Google you can see that several countries have the U.S. on travel caution as well.

 

[Pew]

Not sure why people are still arguing the costs of treatment in Jamaica when it's the same ballpark as USA.

My Grandmother had a stroke in the Bahamas. It was a real crap fest. The best bet when things like this happen is to try to get them flown back to the states if at all possible.

When I lived in St. Thomas just about everybody flew back to the states to give birth. The hospital there was terrible. Luckily no one in my family ever had to go there from 1989 through 1996.

I had a buddy who retired in his 40s to the Caribbean; I think it was Barbados or Aruba but most likely Aruba. Anyways, he said the treatment and amount of care he got there was by far better and cheaper than anything in the USA. Lots of ex-pats, beautiful environment, welcoming people. Only reason why he came back here was to be buried cremated.

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[4wd]

Not sure why people are still arguing the costs of treatment in Jamaica when it's the same ballpark as USA.



I had a buddy who retired in his 40s to the Caribbean; I think it was Barbados or Aruba but most likely Aruba. Anyways, he said the treatment and amount of care he got there was by far better and cheaper than anything in the USA. Lots of ex-pats, beautiful environment, welcoming people. Only reason why he came back here was to be buried.

I will let MD Anderson know that they should halt construction of the new facility …

 

[Pew]

I will let MD Anderson know that they should halt construction of the new facility …

He already went through initial treatment here in Chicago at NorthWestern University for a serious health issue that left him in a wheelchair. He retired to the Cayman Islands, just checked his FB.

 

[QwikKota]

Not sure why people are still arguing the costs of treatment in Jamaica when it's the same ballpark as USA.



I had a buddy who retired in his 40s to the Caribbean; I think it was Barbados or Aruba but most likely Aruba. Anyways, he said the treatment and amount of care he got there was by far better and cheaper than anything in the USA. Lots of ex-pats, beautiful environment, welcoming people. Only reason why he came back here was to be buried cremated.

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Aruba may be an exception to the rule being Dutch, I was only 13 the time I visited. It is definitely beautiful there and seemed cleaner than Jamaica/Bahamas but that's not saying much. We are going to STT in June, I haven't been back since I graduated HS. Hopefully it is as nice as I remember. Spending a few days in St John which is where you can really let your guard down and relax.

I honestly don't remember going to the Doctor for anything other than physicals for sports. We were always outside and ate a lot of fruit and fish.

 

[mk378]

some people not getting knee or hip replacements for many months

That's not a good example. Most people don't want to replace worn-out knees or hips the next day since they need to plan their lives around the weeks or months of recovery that will be necessary afterward. If you break a joint and the best treatment is to replace it with an artificial one, that will get done promptly anywhere.

Rich foreigners go to US flagship hospitals like Mayo because they think it must be better. A lot of them are in two classes though:

* their condition is incurable, even by the best hospital. Americans in such a situation would be discharged to a hospice program. The foreigners occupy scarce ICU beds to slowly die since they are paying full sticker price in cash every day.

* their condition is rather routine and could have been effectively treated in a lesser US hospital or in their home country.

 

[Pew]

That's not a good example. Most people don't want to replace worn-out knees or hips the next day since they need to plan their lives around the weeks or months of recovery that will be necessary afterward. If you break a joint and the best treatment is to replace it with an artificial one, that will get done promptly anywhere.

My friend broke his leg a few years ago, didn't have insurance. The hospitals "treated" him enough to toss him out the door in a wheelchair and didn't want to talk to him until he got insurance. It took him a whole year before he got [state] insurance and finally got the required knee surgeries to start recovering and do physical therapy. Meanwhile during that year he couldn't walk and was confined to a wheelchair, his muscles have atrophied an incredible amount, lost his job, his house, his car, and his cats. Because of all this, he's well over a 1/4 mil in medical debt.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I also agree that when you try to vacation cheaply in stink hole Island nations like Jamaica, you open yourself up for this type of abuse.

For me it isn't worth the risk. Others like to roll the dice in an attempt to save a few bucks. The problem is when it goes bad this is often the result.

Like they say, youth is wasted on the young, and the beautiful beaches on poorly run countries.

 

[andrew_j]

Like much of the Caribbean, and Mexico for that matter, if you get away from the major high dollar, big city resorts, the country itself is a run down, impoverished, crime ridden stink hole... Why would anyone expect the hospitals be any different?..... Especially to foreign vacationers with money, ripe for fleecing.

If you are foreign tourist visiting the stink holes of USA or nice places, you would get a similar bill or likely far more. The difference is they have to treat you in US however quality of uninsured care is very low/bear min

 

[SC Maintenance]

Aruba may be an exception to the rule being Dutch, I was only 13 the time I visited. It is definitely beautiful there and seemed cleaner than Jamaica/Bahamas but that's not saying much. We are going to STT in June, I haven't been back since I graduated HS. Hopefully it is as nice as I remember. Spending a few days in St John which is where you can really let your guard down and relax.

I honestly don't remember going to the Doctor for anything other than physicals for sports. We were always outside and ate a lot of fruit and fish.

The Caribean is a very large place. Someplace like the Grand Cayman or St. Vincent - for example will likely be as good as here. Of course - where is here? I get splendid care at MUSC on the historic Charleston Peninsula. If there is a hospital on Chicago's South Side I am hoping not to need it?

Jamaica is the third world. They put all inclusive resorts there to offer the "vacation experience" to people who don't want to pay for the better islands because Jamaican labor is $2 / hour. I am not condemning it - in fact I personally know someone from Jamaica. I would go to Jamaica - the real part not the resort. But the third world does not shock me. Average income in Jamaica is $2500 / year. Maybe why I don't feel like a Jamaican hospital owes a tourist free health care.

 

[Pew]

If there is a hospital on Chicago's South Side I am hoping not to need it?

University of Chicago Nursing School in the South side of Chicago is actually pretty good. On the bright side if you get shot outside the hospital then good help isn't far.

Now Cook County hospital on the west side....that's a very very different story from the stories I hear.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Side story:

Jamaican body techs are highly prized and paid in the US. Coming from an island country, there are little to no spare parts. You fix almost everything.

Crumpled hood? They'll say "I'll make it look brandy new"! They'd call me "King" too lol.

No complaints from these guys just grinding and banging. Light on the Bondo too.

 

[IndyIan]

My friend broke his leg a few years ago, didn't have insurance. The hospitals "treated" him enough to toss him out the door in a wheelchair and didn't want to talk to him until he got insurance. It took him a whole year before he got [state] insurance and finally got the required knee surgeries to start recovering and do physical therapy. Meanwhile during that year he couldn't walk and was confined to a wheelchair, his muscles have atrophied an incredible amount, lost his job, his house, his car, and his cats. Because of all this, he's well over a 1/4 mil in medical debt.

Yep, this doesn't happen in any other developed rich country, and many developing countries have universal health care systems that cover the basic orthopedic surgery at least. This example sounds like a more complicated break, but that work can be done pretty well in almost any city over 100k people on the planet...
We've been fortunate enough not to need to even use our travel health insurance for a couple visits to a clinic for minor stuff. We just paid the very reasonable fee for a doctor visit and prescription out of pocket in Australia, they just charged the same rate they billed the public health insurance plan. 12 minutes of their time and some medication for shingles was well under $150 IIRC, and both the clinic and us didn't have to waste time dealing with private health insurance companies...

 

[QwikKota]

The Caribean is a very large place. Someplace like the Grand Cayman or St. Vincent - for example will likely be as good as here. Of course - where is here? I get splendid care at MUSC on the historic Charleston Peninsula. If there is a hospital on Chicago's South Side I am hoping not to need it?

Jamaica is the third world. They put all inclusive resorts there to offer the "vacation experience" to people who don't want to pay for the better islands because Jamaican labor is $2 / hour. I am not condemning it - in fact I personally know someone from Jamaica. I would go to Jamaica - the real part not the resort. But the third world does not shock me. Average income in Jamaica is $2500 / year. Maybe why I don't feel like a Jamaican hospital owes a tourist free health care.

I agree it's all relative but I am speaking from previous experiences.

When we went to Jamaica on our honeymoon and walked off the resort I wished I had my Remington 870 and many spare shells...

 

[IndyIan]

I agree it's all relative but I am speaking from previous experiences.

When we went to Jamaica on our honeymoon and walked off the resort I wished I had my Remington 870 and many spare shells...

IMHO, a lot of little countries like this are a good reminder what happens when too much capital and political influence is in the hands of too few.
I read Jamaica is getting more and more people out of poverty in recent years with things like raising minimum wages? So it should be getting safer all the time, as when you have less people with no prospects and nothing to lose, then crime should go down.

 

[rijndael]

Maybe why I don't feel like a Jamaican hospital owes a tourist free health care.

Nothing in first post said he was looking for free healthcare. Did I miss it?

 

[Doc8404]

And the bungholes don’t answer the phone or reply to emails or web contact inquiries.

Still waiting for a paid invoice. And god forbid they send medical records.

 

[wemay]

Not Jamaica but to the point of this thread.

 

[alarmguy]

I have done 2 wisdom teeth, one at a time, with a local. I refuse to be put under by anyone other than a real anesthesiologist in a real hospital.

Didn't hurt at all - while being done - but the amount of force they use to pull is intense. For a couple seconds you wonder if there going to snap your skull.

REALLY INTENSE!!! When I was younger I had three pulled at one time, novocaine was all, I turned down being put to sleep and wanted all three done at the same time, there was to be a 4th done but he didnt want to do it, felt it may compromise my sinus.

 

[Doc8404]

I was in the Navy....the junior LT/Dentist yanked my molars with his knee on my chest.
Then he had to split them to get them out. He did 3, the 4th can burn with me.