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 Health & Beauty | November 2007 
'Medical Tourism' Thrives in Juárez
 Louie Gilot - El Paso Times
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| | Renee Brewster, right, accompanied daughter Sloane Brewster on a walk around the Hospital Angeles in Juárez. They traveled from Alabama so Sloane could have bariatric surgery. The walking is part of the rehabilitation. (Victor Calzada/El Paso Times) |
Juarez - As medical costs skyrocket in the United States, one new private hospital in Juárez is stepping in.
Hospital Angeles looks more like a luxury hotel than a hospital, with a spacious lobby, marble countertops and custom art on the walls.
"That's the concept. It can't look like a hospital. It can't smell like a hospital, so it doesn't turn off people," said Carlos Martinez Loranca, general director.
It's also clearly designed to appeal to American patients: Signs are in English and Spanish, employees speak English, and doctors offer services popular in the United States, such as bariatric surgery for obesity.
Martinez said half the hospital's patients will be Americans, so-called medical tourists seeking affordable health care. Only two weeks after the inauguration and with little publicity, it's working.
This week, 30 bariatric surgeries were scheduled, all on U.S. patients. Martinez expected that 50 to 60 bariatric surgeries will take place in December and 100 in January.
The operation costs $7,500 at Hospital Angeles, which includes two days of recovery and travel from El Paso to Juárez, compared with $20,000 to $35,000 in the United States.
Sloane Brewster, 18, and her mother, Renee Brewster, came from Alabama so Sloane could have Lap-Band surgery. The surgery is not covered by the family's insurance in the United States because Sloane's body mass index is less than 40, Renee Brewster said.
She made the decision to go to Hospital Angeles because a friend of hers in the United States had a good experience with a Mexican doctor who works there.
"Never in a million years would I have let my daughter have surgery outside the country, especially not in Mexico. I was the biggest skeptic. I watched the horror shows on TV. But we've had nothing but a great experience," Renee Brewster said as her daughter recuperated from surgery.
The hospital's posh feeling had a lot to do with assuaging her fears, she said.
"I have a bed in the room with her. The restaurant is open until 9 p.m. It's not like you have to leave the hospital if you don't want to. That's what I promised my husband, that I wouldn't leave the hospital," she said.
Other bariatric patients were sent by Beliteweight, a surgery- scheduling service company in the United States that works with Hospital Angeles.
Martinez said the hospital wants to open an office in El Paso early next week, but clients could come from all parts of the United States and elsewhere, thanks to medical- services brokers. Americans have proved willing and able to travel for medical care because they are uninsured or because they need care that's not covered by their U.S. insurance.
Martinez said U.S. patients would also be interested in plastic surgery, heart surgery, dental surgery and, soon, transplants. Next year, Hospital Angeles wants to open an oncology center.
Grupo Empresarial Angeles invested nearly $82 million to build Hospital Angeles in Juárez, the 20th in the chain and the second on the border. The chain also owns the Camino Real hotels.
The new hospital occupies 430,000 square feet at 9371 Campos Eliseos, in the continuation of Tomas Fernandez Boulevard. It rises 10 floors, has more than 100 rooms, including six luxury suites, 12 operating rooms, a 200-seat auditorium and a heliport. Four hundred and fifty doctors of all specialties work there. Officials said prices would be 60 percent less than in the United States.
At the inauguration in October, elected officials said Hospital Angeles would compete with the best hospitals in the United States.
"This hospital confirms the potential of Juárez and the confidence that Angeles group has with us," José Reyes Baeza, Chihuahua governor, said.
A week later, another high-tech private hospital opened in Juárez. The smaller Mexican chain Star Medica opened a 10-story hospital, with 53 rooms and five operating rooms, in front of Las Misiones Mall. It represented a $30 million investment, Juárez city officials said.
The downside of medical tourism is the lack of legal recourse if something goes wrong.
Martinez brushes off concerns, saying the new hospital's equipment is top-of-the-line, purchased directly from U.S. manufacturers. Doctors are invited to practice at Hospital Angeles only after a thorough review by all the other doctors. The hospital cares about its reputation, Martinez said.
"The best publicity is going to be word of mouth. It will be people telling their cousins and aunts, 'You know what? I had bariatric surgery in Juárez and the hospital is great, people speak English,' " he said.
Hospital Angeles has one more surprise. Between surgeries, doctors can relax at their own private clubhouse inside the hospital called Club Medico, which features a racketball court, saunas, a pool, a gym, a pool table and a private chef.
Jose Luis Ferniza, a urologist, was doing a crawl in the Endless Pool at Club Medico this week.
"It's magnificent, spectacular. This hospital has all the up-to-date technology, which is the most important for our patients," he said.
His schedule is already filled, he said.
"There are many Americans. Mostly Latinos, who speak Spanish," he said.
Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com
The Company
Name: Grupo Empresarial Angeles.
Hospitals: Hospitales Angeles.
Hotels: Camino Real hotels (25 hotels, including one in Juárez and one in El Paso).
Communications: Grupo Imagen (communications). Imagen 90.5 FM and Reporte 98.5 FM (radio); Canal 28 (TV); and Excélsior (newspaper).
Financial: Multivalores Grupo Financiero (investments); La Peninsular Seguros (insurance).
Information: www.grupoempresarialangeles.com.
Hospitals Angeles
20 years old.
20 hospitals in Mexico.
More than 10,000 doctors.
More than 1 million hospitalized patients and 5 million consultations a year.
Hospital Angeles
Where: 9371 Campos Eliseos, Juárez.
Doctors: 450.
Rooms: 120.
Operating rooms: 12.
Information: 011-52-656-227-1900. |
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