TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin POLICE OFFICER CRASH

Did anyone figure out exactly what happened that caused the wreck? Tourist supposedly making u-turn? Officer supposedly late for work?I couldn't tell exactly what happened.I hope the officer gets better but it doesn't look good. Anyone heard anything today?

The last I knew, the officer was transferred off island for medical treatment. I didn't see anything in the DH today about it. Not sure what caused the accident.

Story here:

http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-ma...-treatment.html

Poor guy, he was treated at St. Maarten Medical Center ... They have track record for not having adequate personnel on site in the emergency room.

Then we must be very lucky since our experience at that medical center was stellar.

So was mine when I spent the night there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

As was my wife's visit to the Dutch ER - treated professionally and the wait was not very long.

Ah, Bobcat......reminds me of a 'back in the day' story, circa mid 80's......

We were on the island with teenagers, one of whom came down with something.....earaches, sore throat, low grade temp, etc., and was feeling miserable. At that time our island knowledge and know-how was considerably less than today, and while we knew there were clinics everywhere including at MBR&C where we were staying, the term 'clinic' had a whole different connotation to us, so we drove into P'berg to take her to the ER at the hospital on Front Street, long before it became the home for the aged.

They had us sit on a bench on the sidewalk until they could see her and then they brought us into an ER treatment room where she was seen and diagnosed by the only doctor available - an orthopedic surgeon. We only found out his specialty because he was yelling at the nurse for calling him in for a sore throat because 'after all, he was an ortho and not a GP.!'

As we were sitting in the treatment area people kept walking through the hospital area using it as a short cut out to the beach and the staff never blinked an eyelid at this.

It was a very different experience for us but in the end, the doctor was great with my daughter and we left the ER with an RX in hand along with a bill for $35.00 for the ER visit, doctor and all.

After this experience we were telling a friend on the island about the day we'd had and he explained the use of the local clinics should have been our first option. Live and learn, and thankfully, while we have had to use island doctors a few times since over the years, there's been no major problems or cause for concern.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Personally, I was not that impressed with my excursion into the SXM ER a couple of years ago. But people do have to understand that if there is a very serious medical need, as there was in this case of the police officer, than in almost all cases, the person needs to go off island to be treated.

...which is another reason why tourists should seriously think about buying medical evac insurance, as a medical evac costs roughly $50,000, and is not covered by your regular medical insurance, because in almost all cases, it would be 'out of network'..

Carol -
It is also advised to check your health insurance policy to see if you are covered. My United Healthcare policy covers medical emergencies worldwide;
=============
Covered ambulance services
include fixed wing, rotary wing,
and ground ambulance services, to
the nearest appropriate facility
that can provide care only if they
are furnished to a member whose
medical condition is such that
other means of transportation are
contraindicated (could endanger
the person’s health) or if
authorized by the plan.
================
My plan requires a co-payment of US$250.00

====================
My wife's plan also covers emergencies including transport worldwide - "in network" does not apply to emergencies as out of network charges are treated as being in network at in network co-pays, if any.

I think your policy is pretty unusual and I personally wouldn't count on that, when you're talking about a potential cost of $50,000. I know that my Blue Cross policy was totally out of network for services provided in SXM, and I was very thankful that I had separate trip insurance. Travel insurance that includes several things, including trip cancellation, interruption, medical coverage and medical evac is actually pretty reasonable in price. I never used to get trip insurance but I always do now.

Seems like his situation is impoving. SMN-NEWS