What To Do When an Emergency Illness Strikes While Visiting Puerto Vallarta?

The location has been picked, your bags are packed, tickets are in hand, your itinerary has been checked, excitement is emerging, and you’re ready to dive into the trip of your dreams. All is checked and verified, and the last thing on your mind is an overseas emergency. However, emergencies while traveling abroad can come in all shape and sizes, from natural disasters, to accidents and illnesses.

That’s what happened to Vince and his spouse. This year, like any other, they were visiting Puerto Vallarta when an sudden emergency striked in their travels. Fortunately enough, they arrived at Hospital CMQ City Center were they received top notch care and immediate attention. This is their story:

“An unexpected emergency landed my spouse in the hospital during our annual visit to PV. Having never sought care in foreign land before, we were both leery. We brought our Spanish-speaking friend along as we had no idea what to expect when we got there. Thankfully the receptionist and doctor on duty both spoke English well. I felt more at ease, but my spouse on the other hand was a nervous wreck.

I was expecting a room full of sad cases like back home but it was completely the opposite. Maybe it was a slow night but no one was waiting. After registering, the doctor came out immediately and started triage. Long story short, my spouse had to be admitted.

This location, Hospital CMQ City Center, is one of three Hospitals CMQ within the PV area. It has seven patient rooms, all private, with shower, toilet, TV, strong Wi-Fi, and good-sized cushioned benches for one person to sleep on, which I did for a few nights. Other services they provide are urgent care, labs, CT and X-ray. Everything I could see was clean and modern. The hospital allows one person to stay with the patient. So you don’t need to worry about where to sleep.

Another convenient thing is that they have a Food and Nutrition department that takes care of the patients’ diets and gives them personalized food plans to follow while they’re hospitalized. As a companion for the patient, you also have an in-house option. A coffee shop in the lobby that serves Starbucks coffee and sandwiches.

The service we received from all the nurses were terrific. Major props to Dr. Camacho, who took excellent care of my spouse. He was in constant communication with us via phone and in-person, very straight-forward with excellent bedside manners. Why couldn’t we take him home with us?!

Overall, after a six-night stay, tests, labs, poking and prodding, we had to front a little over $8,000 USD; a deal compared to what the greedy insurance companies in the US would charge. It’s also nice knowing that this level of care is available in the area.”

Note: This is an extract of the review Vince left in our Yelp! profile. You can read the full story here.

The best thing you can do is prepare

Like Vince and his spouse learned, being prepared is something most travelers need to take into consideration. We know that over worrying can kill any trip hype, nonetheless taking some precautions and outlining potential emergencies before your travel can ease your mind and keep the bill from spiraling into expensive ordeals.

It’s extremely important that you know how to prepare a plan to avoid having a bad experience due to a severe sickness. Whether you’re traveling as a tourist for a few days or spending a couple of months abroad, you don’t want to get stuck in a scary situation, so here are some helpful tips:

Outline a plan

Check travel requirements needed for your trip. Lonely Planet, a magazine for travelers, has an informative guide with entry and exit formalities, as well as customs regulations for your visit to Puerto Vallarta, learn more about it here.

Know your basic information

While at home, general information can be easy to recite. But after landing in a foreign country, the easy becomes anything but. Be sure to memorize your address, phone number, and contact information of someone you can reach out to in a time of need. Keep your family and friends aware of where you will be going and where you will be staying, especially if you travel alone.

You may be in a foreign country when your health crisis strikes, injury or illness. If you are unfamiliar with the area in which you are traveling, or unfamiliar with the local language, it can be tricky to find a medical care provider who can help. Our Hospitals CMQ—City Center, Premiere and Riviera Nayarit—are always close by and ready to help you.

In case of a life threatening emergency: