She had pinkeye again and I also wanted to get her ears checked since she had an ear infection last month.  We did not like the idea of spending another 4 hours and U$S 120 at the Hospital Britanico, so we started looking into the alternative – one of the many Emergency/Urgent care services in Montevideo.

These companies offer Policlínicas (urgent care clinics) as well as ambulance service and in-home doctor care.  It is essentially a Minute-Clinic with actual doctors on staff who also make house calls and can bring you to the hospital if needed.

We were thrilled with the service at the SUAT Policlínica just a few blocks from our house. Within 10 minutes of arrival, we were done with the sign-up paperwork, paid and in an exam room seeing a doctor.  We had a quick exam and we were out again in about 30 minutes total, prescription in hand. Brad ran down the block in the other direction to the pharmacy, stopped to get some empanadas and was back with the eye drops and lunch in hand after only 10 more minutes (he claims it was only 6 minutes, but I digress…)

The amazing thing is the cost: about U$S 10.50/month for full-service membership. Yes, that is about $125 per year for emergency and urgent care.  We got in a 6-month promo, which is only approx $5.30 per month ($ 127 pesos).

Many families that we’ve talked to here have this type emergency service membership for the entire family, in addition to their hospital or mutualista membership. Others have the additional emergency service just for the kids – for those unexpected “kid” incidents.

We’ll probably just keep it for Geneva right now.  It’s the peace of mind knowing that we can call in the middle of the night and a doctor will come over, all paid with our monthly membership.

A few of the most popular Emergency service providers are SUAT, SEMM, UCM, and Emergencia UNO.

*We did learn at the SUAT Policlínica that we did not need a prescription for Geneva’s eye drops, but with a prescription, we can get a discount at the pharmacy.  We may need to check that out because unfortunately, now I have pinkeye as well ;(

My impression was very positive, as it should be. Britanico is the premier hospital in Uruguay.  Modern buildings, very clean, organized, friendly.  We’ve heard very good things about this hospital with the only major drawback that they, ironically, don’t speak much English at the British Hospital.  Understanding all of the new medical terms in Spanish wasn’t easy at times, but we managed.

There were several waits and stops during our houspital adventure. It took us approximately 4 hours round trip and our visit went something like this:

1. Find the emergency “window” which is unmarked
2. Wait in the emergency waiting room
3. Wait in the shared pediatric exam room
4. Exam by doctor #1 with prescription for eye drops
5. Wait in Emergency waiting room for referral to ear specialist
6. Walk about 2 blocks to specialist building
7. Check in and wait in specialist’s waiting room
8. See ear specialist to confirm ear infection (Dr. Suarez spoke perfect English!)
9. We don’t know Geneva’s exact weight.  Go downstairs to pediatrics to have her weighed (13 kg)
10. Back upstairs for prescription for antibiotics
11. Pay for specialist visit UY$2000 ( US $83) Wow, look who gets the big bucks!
12. Back to main hospital to pay bill for emergency visit UY$599.62  (US $24.98) and show proof that we paid the specialist.
13. Stop at the front to get information about joining Hospital Britanico
14. Stop to the pharmacy to get the 2 prescriptions UY$485  (US $20.21)

We currently have long-term travel insurance which has covered our first few months here, but such a small cost for our appointment Thursday is not worth making a claim. If we had private health insurance through this hospital or a private insurer in Uruguay, the out of pocket costs would be GREATLY reduced, including prescriptions. The coverage at Hospital Britanico is a cafeteria plan, where you can choose to add on ambulance service, coverage in the USA during travel or any number of additional services. For our family of three, the basic premium for Hospital Britanico is:

Child: UY$1395/mo

Adult age 30-39: UY$1974/mo

Total:   UY $5343   (US $222.62/month for the three of us)

Once we add other services on to this, which I am sure we will, cost will go up, but it is a far cry from being on an individual plan in the US and paying $1100/month for just Geneva and me (plus prescriptions and copays).

There are many other options here for insurance which we will explore in the coming month. Between Mutualistas, an individual hospital membership (like Britanico) and the public health care system, I am sure there will be an option that will fit our needs.

For us, this answer was clear after a long list of considerations.  We wanted:

• High standard of living
• Relatively low cost of living
• Similar time zone to the USA
• Spanish speaking
• Safety
• Cultural opportunities/experiences
• Good infrastructure
• Good health care system
• Stable government
• Positive attitude towards foreigners

That list rules out our favorite place in the world, Spain, because of the time zones and cost of living.  It also rules out most of Central and South America for various reasons: either the infrastructure, standard of living, Portuguese language, governmental stability or safety concerns.

Here you have the opera, libraries and nice book stores (will be nice once I learn more Spanish!), the Louvre exhibit on La Rambla and those are just the few things that we know about.  There is also a dual public/private health care system which gets positive reviews and modern medical facilities.

There are a few things that we are not wild about Uruguay, but these are minor for our living here:

• Local wages are quite low.  It can be difficult for those who are coming here to make a good living without having some source of income from the US or elsewhere (or having multiple family members to pitch in for household income).
• What we have seen of Uruguay really isn’t ethnically diverse.  Lots of Italian and Spanish Immigrants and… well… white people. Not at all like the indigenous population that I was accustomed to in Peru and Bolivia.
• Along the same lines, there is a lack of international foods.  That is why we have been so excited to find good Mexican food and we know of one or two sushi places around the city (but careful, we’ve heard of some food-borne illness recently!)  We can’t wait to go to Buenos Aires in a couple weeks so we can scope out some Thai food.  I really miss it!!  (I used to have the phone number for Chang Mai Thai in Minneapolis on speed dial).

There is also a recent thread on the Uruguay Connection forum discussing a similar question, “Why Move to UY?”

And these are just our experiences in the three months that we’ve lived in UY.  It’ll be interesting to see how our perspective might change as we settle into life here and learn more about the country.

Campsuds: This is a multi-purpose, biodegradable liquid soap that can be used for clothes, dishes and body. While we have bathed with it before, we are using it for clothes and dishes right now. There are several scents available and it is concentrated so it lasts forever. We have a 4 oz bottle that has lasted us from our Peru/Inca trail trip a few years ago.

We use Dr. Bronner Castille Soap for showering and other cleansing.  Another excellent concentrated all-purpose naturally derived biodegradable liquid soap.  

Pack Towl: These microfiber towels are amazing and we have them in 4 sizes. Ours are a previous generation, so I assume that they could only get better. They have been great as dishtowels, bath towels, wringing wet clothes dry- you name it. They’re light, have a snap loop to hang with, wash perfectly and dry incredibly quickly. What more could you ask for?  Be warned though, these are not cushy towels.  It’s a bit like drying with a giant chamois, but they get the job done. 

Frio Pouch: This was the only solution that I could find for trekking in Thailand in 2002. I needed something that would hold my insulin and keep it cold when I was going to be away from refrigeration for extended periods of time. The Frio pouch was/is a godsend. It has a gel that is activated by water that keeps the pouch cool for days. Soak it for about 10 minutes or so and you’re ready to go. When the water starts to evaporate, simply re-soak it (I did this in more then one stream during the Thailand trek). The gel dries to a sandy texture and it completely reusable. Saved my insulin from the Thailand heat and has gotten through airport security in my carry on and everything!!
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: I highly recommend carrying a doctor’s note when traveling with any medical supplies/devices. I have also found it helpful to call the airline and have a note added to your record if you are traveling with large amounts of supplies (thank you to Brad for recommending this). It saved me a whole lot of trouble this last time! Also, just because it worked for me, does not mean it will work for you and/or the airline you are flying. Check and double check with them first!!