Best hospital in Pereira?

Member since 15 March 2020

bmpanmanNew member16 March 2020 00:55:26

My wife and I are tourists traveling here in Colombia and the growing CoronaVirus situation is having us rethink our plans. We have 3 weeks left on our itinerary and the way things look in the US, it seems relatively safer here, at least for the time being.

We head to Pereira tomorrow and originally planned for just a few days there. However, it is probably wiser not to continue traveling and stay put in a place, and we would like a place to be close to a hospital(s) in case one of us were to get the virus and needed help. I am 69 and thus in the higher risk bracket, though I am healthy and reasonably fit. She is younger and is not in the higher risk group.

Sorry for dragging this on, but my question for the forum members is if any of you have had experience with the hospitals in Pereira? Would you recommend them (and who knows if they have ventilators) or advise us to go to one of the top rated hospitals such as in Cali, Manizales, or even Medellin. We would prefer not to make any of those our temporary home base. We are in Manizales at the moment and want to head south.

Our return tickets (on United) to the US are in early April, and my hunch is that the US airlines will have suspended their flights to/from Colombia by then.

Thanks in advance for any advice from those who know the lay of the land here, so to speak. Very much appreciated.

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Laker4115 Serial expat

Member since 25 September 2019

Laker4115Serial expat16 March 2020 01:41:45

217

I would recommend you stay away from any hospitals unless you are already severely ill. The safest thing to do in Colombia is to have the doctor come to you, which they still do in Colombia. I am in Pereira and my wife got ill last January and went to the hospital Confamiliar which is probably one of the best here. I went with her and I ended up getting Pneumonia from someone else in the emergency waiting room. So we both ended up spending all of last January with pneumonia but all of our treatments was by a private physician in our own apartment. So stay far away from any hospital here.

Rodrigo en Colombia New member

Member since 01 November 2017

Rodrigo en ColombiaNew member16 March 2020 11:04:03

I agree,
I think its best to stay out of a hospital as much as possible and have them come to you.
But I do have a friend who has an Airbnb apartment very well located close to shops and close to the Comfamiar hospital (1 of the better ones) but I would still only go to the hospital as a last resort and try to stay away as much as possible.
***
I dont live in Pereira, but an hour away. But if you do need help while you're here let me know. I dont know if I'll be to help, but if I can I will.
Bruce
***

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bmpanman New member

Member since 15 March 2020

bmpanmanNew member17 March 2020 03:31:35

Thank you, Laker,

I would never have suspected this so I appreciate your answer. Our situation has changed in the last 24 hours and we are going to head back to the US where we do have medical insurance, should we need it. We hate to cut our trip here in Colombia short, but hopefully next time. Thank you again.

bmpanman New member

Member since 15 March 2020

bmpanmanNew member17 March 2020 03:36:43

Rodrigo, aka Bruce,

Thank you very much for your kind offer. We are now here in Pereira in an Airbnb but our plans have changed. Originally, we thought we would try to weather the storm (of the virus) in the US down here. However we have not medical insurance here (and we do in the US) and the amount of time we would need to be here is not known. So we are going to head to Cali and catch a flight back to the US. I will remember your kind offer of help, and should we get back here (hopefully) maybe we can connect and meet up. Best wishes to you.

Oh, what is the town where you live, if you do not mind sharing that here? We came here doing some reconn and thinking of Colombia as a place to spend part of the year. Medellin is too large and with too much pollution for us. Jardin is beautiful but perhaps a bit too small and filled with tourists on the weekends. Manizales (when we were there) was chilly and overcast......so we are still looking. Of course, we are all different in our likes and dislikes............