” WELCOME TO PANAMA!! ” This was music to my ears as I saw the greeter open the door to the second huge bus loaded with tourists from the States after it pulled into the Marriott Courtyard at Multiplaza Mall. The hotel was full despite numerous surveys stating that it should be otherwise. Something in the air tells me we are off to an unusually good season this year. So let me continue this series of why I love this country of my birth and why I moved here. Before I do, let me lay the groundwork for my decision to leave the US. A friend and neighbor of mine who also lives part time in Ecuador wrote something in her blog that really struck a cord with me on why I left for Panama.

“It’s not that we want to leave. It’s that we want to go. . .to see more, to learn more, to feel more deeply. We want to understand how other people live and why they make the choices they do. Maybe it can best be summed up in the words of Mark Twain spoken so many years ago.”

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

OK, so now let me touch on one of the reasons that Panama played into our quest for a fuller life. My wife and I enjoyed two nights in Panama City last week and spent the days taking care of some shopping and healthcare issues with a specialist at San Fernando Hospital. I won’t bore you with the details of the shopping and nightlife as it is pretty much the same in most cosmopolitan cities around the world although I must admit, Panama City reminds me of the many times I that spent in Hong Kong while growing up in Asia years ago, a City that was going places!

I do want to take the time to talk about something important as it is to all of us when we need it, Healthcare. My wife had some suspicious blood results that prompted her primary care giver to advise her to see a specialist. My good friend Roberto Eisenmann III suggested a doctor he knew at San Fernando and put me in touch with the administrator of the hospital, Elisa Lewis. We sent in the blood work, made our appointments and showed up at 9:30 in the morning after flying in from David near our home in the mountains. We were greeted by a patient relations specialist who had us sign in at the front desk, took us to the lab for follow up blood work and then to the ultrasound department where we meet with the head radiologist who performed the ultrasound. After escorting us back to the entrance, we departed a total of 45 minutes later with a total bill for $203. After shopping and dinner that night we awoke refreshed and set off to the appointment with the specialist who saw us immediately as scheduled, did a complete exam, read the radiologists report and wrote up a couple of prescriptions. The doctor’s bill was $50. We departed and were out the front door again in 45 minutes and that was only because the doctor wanted to hear about my latest fishing trip where we raised 6 sails and a marlin weighting 600 plus pounds (OK, I had to add that tidbit, you know me about fishing).

Clinica Hospital San Fernando – Overview
Clinica Hospital San Fernando is a private 159 bed medical center offering services of over 500 medical professionals at international healthcare standards. It has been in service since 1949.
Clinica Hospital San Fernando is affiliated with distinguished international medical and academic institutions such as Tulane University, Children’s Hospital in Miami, Baptist Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, and many more.
www.hospitalsanfernando.com

Another Hospital worth mentioning in the City is the Hospital Punta Pacifica currently affiliated with Johns Hopkins and a first class operation as well. They specialize in the new wave of medical tourism that is growing rapidly in Panama.

Last year we flew in after making appointments with the hospital and my wife went through a battery of tests including an updated mammogram, ultrasound, MRI and nuclear film to insure a previous breast cancer was no longer an issue and after a clean bill of health we paid a total of less than $1,800 for the tests, radiologists and oncologist.
www.health-tourism.com

So here we are back in Boquete in the mountains and the sky is solid blue with only the mountain peaks bathed in a blanket of fluffy white clouds. Temperature is 75 and after the gym this morning, it is off to the office to write this up. I can tell you that there are numerous reasons for deciding on Panama and Healthcare is one of them. Quality healthcare with the emphasis on care when you meet with a real care giver. As we still have our policy back in the US until June, we were privileged to experience the treatment not unlike what we give our cows down here when we heard them up for vitamin and vaccine shots. I sat for hours in waiting rooms in the US and when I asked how much longer it would be, I was told that I was lucky to have the appointment as they were very busy and I would just have to wait and wait and wait. Yes the US does have some of the “best healthcare in the world.” Problem is, you could die waiting to get it!

Here in Panama we can still get general practitioners to make house calls for $35 and the local hospital has excellent healthcare plans starting at $40 per month. Our friend had some laparoscopic surgery done by one of the top orthopedic surgeons and after returning to the US his doctor told him that he was extremely impressed with the work. Major hip and pelvis work for $25,000 vs $100,000 in the US which is typical down here. Next time you need dental implants or other elective surgery, come here and get it done for a fraction of the cost and have a nice vacation thrown in.

Here are just a few more reasons for Why Panama and forgive me if I have repeated this before, but you should think about these facts if you are considering a new horizon to explore in life. I will embellish later on these subjects and Why Panama!

OK now the facts:

Panama has a low cost of living where you can slash your living costs by 60% yet live luxuriously and enjoy a fuller life.
Panama is close and is connected with direct flights to 56 cities including 8 in the US and yes, your kids will love to visit.
Panama is safe, tourist friendly with a wide selection of venues from a Miami -style City, two oceans and lot in between.
Panama has the US Dollar as it’s currency, it is the business capital of the Americas with numerous business opportunities
Panama has first world infrastructure with international fiber optic connections, banking systems and business services.
Panama has no hurricanes and world class sport-fishing, diving and sailing. Did I mention fishing?

The rest is for you to find out. If you have an interest in seeing our country and some of the investment options available, we would be honored to host you.

So now it is time to hit the send button and take my wonderful wife out to lunch at Pianista, a lovely Italian restaurant located at the foot of a waterfall on a secluded mountain stream. Very romantic. This way she will let me go fishing next week too!!