Dear Clients

 

Thank you for your patience as we were fact checking and ensuring information we deliver is accurate to the best of our abilities. We verified it by different sources and we remain committed to communicate often and most accurate information available.  As per our commitment to our clients,  we will share good, bad and ugly, with client safety and client knowledge taking priority over who will we upset by sharing accurate and direct information😊. They will get over it.

 

DISCLAIMER:

• SODOCIPRE information is factual due to their statement given to doctors and RH
• Airport reopening is factual due to DR Government statement
• Passport information is based on conversation we had with person positioned higher up at state department level familiar with travel document renewal. This is not an official statement , rather this is firsthand information which is accurate

 

In this email you will find:

• Passport Information and anticipated delivery times for clients waiting for passports
• Airport reopening info and estimates
• SODOCIPRE ( The Dominican Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery) recommended COVID-19 temporary protocols

 

Wat is not in this email:

• CroCaribe RH COVID-19 Protocols. We will send this to our clients when we start intake process (3-4 weeks prior check in)

 

PASSPORT INFO:

 

If you submitted request for new passport February 2020 and march 2020 (or later) chances of getting your passport in July and August are VERY slim. Especially if at that time you did not pay for expedite processing.  The anticipated date they will open office for travel document processing is mid-June no later then end of June . Those who requested expedited processing will be handled first. There is major backlog in new passport as well as renewals applications. Just think about it this way. Travel document processing stopped mid-March and now is end of May. There is min of 3 months of backlog, possible even more. There are some exceptions that can speed up the process.

 

If you are doing any rescheduling we would STRONGLY ADVISE you to do it sooner , rather then later due to the fact Doctors and Good RH are booked already month in advance with VERY limited availability.

 

Exceptions:

• If your medical procedure is medically necessary and urgent . You will need a letter from USA based doctor. State department will not accept memos from non-USA licensed physicians
  • Some of examples:
    • If your breast implant punctured and it is leaking
    • If you had surgery recently and there are complications and urgent  revision is needed
    • If you are obese and you need to have weight loss surgery, and the obesity has direct and short term impact on your health
• Urgent family matters:
  • If your immediate relative is in life threatening situation ( very sick and probability of relative passing is real)
  • If your immediate relative passed and you need to take care of personal matters
  • If you have minor child in DR that requires your immediate attention

 

IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE;

• No matter what anyone says online, you will NOT BE ALLOWED to enter DR without valid passport. Passport ID cards, birth certificates, application and verification letters are not eligible to grant you access
• Unfortunately, as with other services, there are many characters coming up with ideas to defraud surgery community . They know how much we want to have it done and they come up with all kind of scenarios and frauds. NO ONE can help you to expedite passport processing other then state department. Please DO NOT ay anyone 100-500$ for help. We have seen many of those offers (like all those credit repair systems) . If you are not sure, feel free to whatsapp us +1(862)823-4633 and we will let you know what we think about it and if we know anything about it
• Safe bet is if you don’t have passport, reschedule for October or later

 

TRAVEL INTO DR:

 

As we all know DR government announced DR airport will be open to international travel on 07/01/2020. That effectively made all June clients reschedule . Clinics in DR are reopening in next 2 weeks, however they will service only domestic (DR) clients as no one from outside can come in. There has been some talk that if you fly into Puerto Rico you would be able to take ferry into DR. that is possible, we don’t know for sure, however we would recommend to wait till airports reopen. July and August will be madhouse with all clients trying to have surgery in those months, so if you are flexible with time we would highly recommend to reschedule for October and later when things calm down. As of now many airlines still allow no penalty ticket changes due to COVID-19, however we see this changing soon. This being said, if you are flexible , reschedule sooner rather then later.

 

Despite many June airline tickets not being canceled by airlines, we are certain there will be no flights from states to DR in June.

 

SODOCIPRE RECMENDED COVID-19 PROCOLS:

 

SODOCRIPRE recently issues several memos to doctors with their suggested temporary protocols regarding COVIS-19. Despite the fact those protocols are “suggested” and “recommended” Doctors in DR will follow them due to the fact SODOCIPRE is very influential agency in DR , credentialing and verifying Medical and other doctors in DR. Often Doctors in DR are more concerned about SODOCIPRE then Salud Publica ( DR department of health) . Please take those suggestions seriously and if you fall within those categories . The chances of you being denied surgery is very high. Of course you can always decide to go to DR and take a chance, however please consider those when making decision.

 

SODOCIPRE suggested protocols:

 

• Every client will receive a questionnaire self-certifying COVID-19 status
• Every client (and their companion ) will be tested by labs and cost will be paid by client
  • Exact price is not known yet however there is 100$ per test cost that is being circulated
  • We would highly suggest not to bring a companion. Many RH will not allow them for time being. We still do, at this time,  but they will also need to be tested, they can not go with you to clinic and they can not go sightseeing. Essentially they will come to DR and stay at RH the whole time
• If you were tested positive for COVID-19 2 months before your surgery and recovered, most of the doctors will not perform surgery and you will be rescheduled
  • If that is the case with you and you having surgery in July-September we would suggest to reschedule . Remember…if you were positive two months before surgery date
    • • Example ( if you were tested positive for Covid-19 June 1, you should have surgery August 2 or later
      • Clients might not be completely accurate when filling covid-19 questionnaire, please be advised test done in DR will be comprehensive and they will ask you to reschedule. So you will spend money and time traveling to DR.
• If you have diabetes you need to reschedule surgery min 3 months from 07/01. Chances of you being denied are very high and real by your doctor, especially if the doctor is respectable and in Good standing with SODOCIPRE
• If you have severe asthma you need to reschedule surgery min 3 months from 07/01. Chances of you being denied are very high and real by your doctor, especially if the doctor is respectable and in Good standing with SODOCIPRE
• If your age is 60 or above you need to reschedule surgery min 3 months from 07/01. Chances of you being denied are very high and real by your doctor, especially if the doctor is respectable and in Good standing with SODOCIPRE
• If you are severely obese (high BMI- in our estimate 37-38 and higher) you need to reschedule surgery min 3 months from 07/01. Chances of you being denied are very high and real by your doctor, especially if the doctor is respectable and in Good standing with SODOCIPRE
• Client will be required to wear mask and gloves at ALL times while in clinic ( so make sure you bring them with you, those are in short supplies in DR and price is not 4-5 times higher then pre pandemic)
• No companion or visitor will be allowed to go to clinic with client
• There will be additional testing and specialist visits required so please bring 200-300$ extra in cash for those on top of the anticipated cash you are already bringing.  You can count of covid-19 test being performed and that will be 100-125$ (in our estimate).
• Sightseeing and shopping trips will be minimized and/or temporary eliminated. Doctors like client to go from clinic to RH and the other way around . The only time client should leave RH or ARBNB is to go to clinic or other medical appointment
• Social distancing in clinics to the extent possible

 

These are temporary protocols and suggestion in nature. In our opinion as the industry goes back to normal and routine used to have, those will be easing up. It is our opinion by September or October things will be close to how it was in the past, provided we don’t have another outbreak ☹

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SITUATION AND MINIMIZE RISK OF RESCHEDULING AND ENSURING YOUR SAFETY:

• If possible week before you depart for surgery take a COBIS-19 test in your home country so you have results 2-3 days prior departure. We are not talking here about rapid test to test for antibodies, but rather test to see if you are positive or not . We are not sure about other countries, in the States the test is becoming available across the country and hopefully it will be available everywhere
• Bring your own supplies of facemasks, gloves, antibacterial hand cleaners. Masks and gloves will need to be changed daily so pleas ensure you have 2-3 masks for each day you are there. Don’t count on Clinics or RH having abundance of those as it was the case in the past due to high cost and unavailability of same
• Be ready for longer waits in clinics

 

This is situation no one expected and everyone is trying to get adjusted and do the best they can . It is important everyone in this scenario does their part , Surgeons, RH and Clients .

 

FEW CroCaribe RH NOTES TO CLOSE THIS LONG (SORRY ABOUT THAT) EMAIL

• CroCaribe RH is finalizing our own COVID-19 protocols in cooperation with Doctors to complement their for seamless PostOp care. We will send them to our clients as part of our intake process
• Be aware of all kind of people on social media selling services, cures, protection and whatever they sell regarding COVID-19. Unfortunately DR Plastic Surgery community is filled with people trying to defraud clients
• Be aware “of fluff” covid-19 protocols  some arnbnb and rh are trying to implement as ‘feel good’ scenario. Question them. Rapid covid-19 test shows if there are antibodies in the system or not, meaning if you had it in the past. It does not show if you are currently positive, that is the reason we ask you to do test before you go. That is crucial part of this and if possible to be done it is your responsibility . Some vendors will also have all kind of solutions that want to spray you and your clothes. Ask them what it is. It is not safe introducing a chemical to a client prior intake process performed due to unknown if any allergies are to be considered

 

Thank you for reading.

Please visit our blog and read more about COVID-19 testing methods here https://crocaribespa.com/recovery-house-dr-the-latest-in-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-methods-and-availability/

CroCaribe Recovery & Spa

is a premier PostOp Recovery House in Dominican Republic. Our focus is on Clinical care offering optimizing recovery process with InHouse FT medical doctor, licensed and accredited RN’s, Trained Chef, Full Time housekeepers and FT driver you will be in great hands.

Our Clinical Staff Speaks English .