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Emergency Health
Care - By Bill Quinlan
Part-time residents in Southern Dunes
sometimes ask “What if I have a health emergency? What
if I can’t pay for it?” Some are foreign nationals,
including Brits whose national health system back home
won’t pay if they get sick here.
The Heart of Florida Regional
Medical Center is minutes away, about four miles north
of Southern Dunes on U.S. 27. Its telephone number is
(863) 422-4971.
“We don’t discriminate on the basis of
citizenship or national origin. We give everyone the
same level of care and compassion,” says Heart of
Florida’s Chief Executive Officer Jay Finnegan.
Finnegan says the hospital must, under the
federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act,
stabilize anyone who presents him or herself at its
emergency room. He says it’s up to the treating
physician to decide when a patient is stabilized.
But what does emergency care cost? What if
one needs hospitalization, or outpatient care?
One emergency room visit can easily run a
thousand dollars, often much more. “Most of our
(foreign) ER patients have travel insurance,” says
Finnegan.
A part-time resident who
hails from England puts it more bluntly. “You’re a fool
if you don’t buy travel insurance.” Such insurance,
sometimes called “holiday insurance” is available from
one’s bank. Because he has good credit, this man pays a
premium of about $20 a month while in the States. It
buys him not only the insurance but other perks as
well. It is good for twelve months,
provided no one trip exceeds three
months. He adds that it is illegal for British citizens
to travel abroad without such insurance.
But, even so, there’s a catch. Such insurance typically
doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions. Plus, one should
read the fine print. For example, there may be a total
dollar limit on coverage.
Finnegan acknowledges that emergency room health care is not
“cost-effective”. He adds that many who present
themselves at emergency rooms aren’t suffering from
“acute events.
Finnegan suggests
that many would be better served at Urgent Care
Cypress. Urgent Care, an arm of the Heart of Florida
Regional Medical Center, is at 7375 Cypress Gardens
Boulevard in Winter Haven, telephone (863) 325-8185.
Hours are 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, 10:a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays, and noon until
4:00 p.m. Sundays. Urgent Care provides three levels of
examinations. Basic, that is a simple examination by a
physician, is $85. Intermediate, which involves one
special procedure, is $145. Comprehensive, which
involves additional special procedures, is $225.
Heart of Florida will do no more than stabilize
emergency patients who do not have insurance, unless
they make a substantial down payment. Moreover, the
hospital works with few if any health insurance
companies outside the United States. “Insurers in
Canada and England, for example, will not reimburse us,”
Finnegan says. He adds that the hospital will provide
in-patient services
discounted at 62 percent. The size of the required down
payment varies.
Heart of Florida
maintains a list of local physicians. However, it keeps
no information on which physicians accept patients
without insurance, walk-ins or seasonal residents. The
hospital maintains a “Physician Referral Line” during
normal business hours. The phone number is (863)
419-2341.
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Crime Prevention -
By Bill Quinlan
The Southern Dunes Homeowners Association sponsored a
Haines City Police Department crime prevention session
on February 24. Corporal Michael Teague led a lively
discussion. He offered these tips on how to discourage
would-be thieves:
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Keep doors and windows locked
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Don’t leave vehicles unlocked or with keys
in them
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Secure sliding glass doors with locks, or
bars placed in the door runner
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Don’t leave newspapers, phone books and
other materials outside
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Report any and all suspicious behavior in
the neighborhood
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Don’t answer any questions posed by
strangers arriving at the door
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Don’t allow unchaperoned children in the
home
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Don’t leave large empty boxes (for
example, TV containers) outside
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Don’t allow lawns to become overgrown
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Use house keys that can’t be duplicated.
Teague said statistics show that Southern Dunes is a
relatively safe place to live. However, he added that
he has worked several burglaries and other crimes there.
“We’re always trying to improve safety and security,”
said Association Board President Bill Grobasky. The
Board subsequently installed additional lighting along
the sidewalk near the front gate and plans to add a
video camera at the gate itself.
Teague said it is not unusual for thieves to steal
items as large as air conditioners, and noted that they
can be removed from Southern Dunes through the back gate
with little or no scrutiny. Grobasky said the
Association is working with the apartment complex
management to further restrict egress at that gate.
Grobasky said a new system is in place requiring
contractors to provide detailed identification and to
obtain monthly permits, in a different color each month.
Teague said some home alarm system companies are better
than others, so it’s a good idea to check around before
selecting a company to protect one’s home. He also said
it typically takes ten minutes between the time an alarm
is set off and the time the police are aware of it.
Teague said theft rates spike in the summer when
snowbirds are away. So it becomes especially important
to ask neighbors and management companies to stay
vigilant.
One resident expressed concern about the lack of an
overhead camera to catch motorists running the red light
at U.S. 27 and Southern Dunes Boulevard. Teague agreed
that it is a dangerous intersection. He said
installation of a camera there is a high priority and
that the police have the area under radar surveillance.
Correction: The
deadline for removing recycling and trash containers
from curbside is midnight on pick-up days. The time was
incorrectly reported in the Winter Edition of The
Southern Dunes Sun. The Sun regrets the
error.
Letters to the
Editor. The Southern Dunes Sun welcomes letters
to the Editor. They should be submitted to the Editor
through the Association Agent by e-mail (Barbara@donasher.com)
or in person or by regular mail at 1603 Forest Hills
Lane, Haines City, FL 33844. The Editor reserves the
right to edit letters for length and taste or not to
publish them due to space considerations.
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