Medical Care in The Villages

[fcgiii]

We are considering moving to The Villages this spring. Here in Northern Virginia we have excellent free heath care provided by the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Medicare and Tricare for Life as a retired veteran..

We were diagnosed with COVID on 12/28 and reported positive on 12/29.

Yesterday symptoms increased and we went to the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital ER. It was not crowded and we were seen almost immediately. We received excellent care for 5 hours, getting chest xrays, blood tests, CA scan and urinalysis. We were discharged with some new prescriptions.

QUESTION: how does this compare with the treatment we can expect at The Villages?

[joelfmi]

medical care is one of the best reasons why Retires have picked the villages to settle in this community . Why no one will answer you. Is very strange and bring negative thoughts for me to retire at this 55+ community.

[graciegirl]

We are considering moving to The Villages this spring. Here in Northern Virginia we have excellent free heath care provided by the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Medicare and Tricare for Life as a retired veteran..

We were diagnosed with COVID on 12/28 and reported positive on 12/29.

Yesterday symptoms increased and we went to the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital ER. It was not crowded and we were seen almost immediately. We received excellent care for 5 hours, getting chest xrays, blood tests, CA scan and urinalysis. We were discharged with some new prescriptions.

QUESTION: how does this compare with the treatment we can expect at The Villages?

Florida itself is NOT a mecca for the finest medical care such as found in places like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Ohio where there are large established medical communities known for their medical research and teaching hospitals. The ones that always show up in Newsweeks best hospitals every year. I watch. I kind of am a "hospital snob" because our daughter was born with some involved and unusual congenital issues that require highly skilled support and repair and intervention.

With that said, after consulting with two physicians when we first came here, we are far better satisfied with The Villages Health care, BUT not all insurance plans will be available to you if you choose them.

Our doctor there, at the office near Lake Sumter Landing is a wonderfully kind and smart young man named Joseph Rizzi who was born in Brooklyn and is witty and caring and extremely up on things. I wish he would marry our granddaughter. He makes us all feel extremely well taken care of....even with my medical snobbery issues.

[rustyp]

We are considering moving to The Villages this spring. Here in Northern Virginia we have excellent free heath care provided by the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Medicare and Tricare for Life as a retired veteran..

We were diagnosed with COVID on 12/28 and reported positive on 12/29.

Yesterday symptoms increased and we went to the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital ER. It was not crowded and we were seen almost immediately. We received excellent care for 5 hours, getting chest xrays, blood tests, CA scan and urinalysis. We were discharged with some new prescriptions.

QUESTION: how does this compare with the treatment we can expect at The Villages?

Walking into an emergency room here (depending on your level of triage) and being treated immediately is not going to happen here in general. Too many people - not enough beds. Overall medical care like your primary and specialists are very good. If you are not willing to switch insurance you better check out what doctor/s take your insurance and their reputations. TV has there own medical centers which are very good but will only take a very limited selection on insurance. That said there are many others non TV associated doctors that take different insurance plans. If this is at the top of your list you should research this very diligently before buying here.

[retiredguy123]

We are considering moving to The Villages this spring. Here in Northern Virginia we have excellent free heath care provided by the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Medicare and Tricare for Life as a retired veteran..

We were diagnosed with COVID on 12/28 and reported positive on 12/29.

Yesterday symptoms increased and we went to the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital ER. It was not crowded and we were seen almost immediately. We received excellent care for 5 hours, getting chest xrays, blood tests, CA scan and urinalysis. We were discharged with some new prescriptions.

QUESTION: how does this compare with the treatment we can expect at The Villages?
The Villages health care centers will not accept original Medicare for primary care treatment. They will only accept a United Health advantage plan or a Florida Blue advantage plan. But, there are many primary care providers and specialists in the area who will accept original Medicare and Tricare.

I moved here from the northern Virginia area also, and, in my opinion, the quality and availability of health care in Virginia was far superior.

[John_W]

My neighbor is retired Air Force with Tricare, I've known him for almost ten years. He had open heart surgery last year at the Leesburg Hospital paid for by the government. He had hip surgery this year, I don't remember where he had that surgery, the VA has a huge hospital in Gainesville which I have been to numerous times. They also have an almost new VA hospital in Orlando which another neighbor goes to. My neighbor with the hip surgery had a worker come to his home every other day for rehab.

Myself, I'm not retired but a veteran and have both United Health Medicare Advantage and we have within TV I believe nine medical centers, I have 3 centers within 3 miles of my home, Colony, Pinellas and Brownwood. I go to Brownwood location and get yearly checkups, shots, labs tests, all the usual. That's all paid for if you have the United Health Medicare Advantage Plan. I also go to the private MVP Gym at Brownwood which is paid for by United Health.

We also have a VA clinic at the northern end of TV called Mulberry and they can do quite lot. Such as colonoscopy, echo cardiograms, eye exams, and you'll assigned one of the 16 doctors on staff although but they are very busy with 16,000 patients. I see my doctor about every nine months, I have care both with TV Health and the VA. You can send your VA doctor a message on myhealthyvet anytime, he has 2 nurses which will handle a lot of the day-t0-day and refills for prescriptions, they have a pharmacy there. It's really nice, opened in 2010 because TV is so large they overpowered the Leesburg VA clinic. I have been going since 2011 and have had 3 doctors, first two weren't that great, the latest is real good, that's Dr. Wyland.

The VA Clinic in TV at Mulberry, my doctor is Dr. Wyland

The Villages VA Clinic - North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (https://www.northflorida.va.gov/locations/theVillages.asp)

https://www.northflorida.va.gov/NORTHFLORIDA/images/Villages_480x330.jpg

The Villages Health Care Brownwood location, my doctor is Dr. Rashid

Welcome To Brownwood Care Center - The Villages Health (https://thevillageshealth.com/care-centers/brownwood-care-center/)

https://cdn.businessyab.com/assets/uploads/bad259567bf4eb3d5afe588003e11b8e_-united-states-florida-sumter-county-the-villages-brownwood-boulevard-2910-the-villages-health-brownwood-care-center-352-674-1790.jpg

Lee than a 1000' from my Brownwood Medical Center is the just opened Villages Center for Advanced Healthcare at Brownwood, sometimes your doctor may send you there for additional tests and there are eye doctors and others located here.

https://esarch.com/content/uploads/3_CAHB.jpg

In Gainesville is the Malcolm Randall VA Hospital for North Florida and South Georgia. It's about 60 miles. If you live south of Lake Sumter Landing (LSL) you can get on I-75 at Wildwood within a few minutes and I can to the hospital in about one hour. The big building with dirt around it, opened in 2011.

Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center - North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (https://www.northflorida.va.gov/locations/gainesville.asp)

https://www.gainesville.com/storyimage/LK/20100716/News/604156028/V1/0/V1-604156028.jpg

I had to stay there for three days in 2013 and my room looked just like this. It was almost new, they had opened a whole section in 2011 and it was a private room and bath.

https://www.northflorida.va.gov/NORTHFLORIDA/images/Patient_Room_Feature.jpg

The Villages also has it's own hospital. The ER has been undergoing changes, there has been problems in the past and I've known people involved in accidents that were taken to an Ocala Hospital instead of the closer TV Hospital. If I have an emergency only 2 miles from home is the just opened Ocala Health satellite location, it's a emergency walk-in location fully staffed in Trailwinds Villages. It's just off the Villages Property.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/118783603_3517864461654024_8584818410204010034_n.j pg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=gsJbFWLflJcAX_OtdhS&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=a19e0272e986a78963264247f5e8e532&oe=602A0296

If one emergency walk-in is not enough, the University of Florida just opened this walk-in clinic on SR 44 across from Brownwood, only about 3 south of the Ocala Health Clinic, so were pretty well covered on the southside.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/139241485_1845152555649268_7215881793980074174_n.j pg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=lARRgUpxSzQAX975U1M&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=c53fe700a3aebf1bf44cde8bdd553ccc&oe=602C102C

[biker1]

I think you will find that the facilities in the immediate Villages area, and there are a lot of them as John W posted, are all fine for "routine" issues. For more challenging problems, UoF/Shands in Gainesville, Moffitt in Tampa, and the Mayo Clinic on the southside of Jacksonville are all a reasonable drive away. I don't know how Medicare with Tricare for Life works with regard to those 3 facilities.

We are considering moving to The Villages this spring. Here in Northern Virginia we have excellent free heath care provided by the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Medicare and Tricare for Life as a retired veteran..

We were diagnosed with COVID on 12/28 and reported positive on 12/29.

Yesterday symptoms increased and we went to the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital ER. It was not crowded and we were seen almost immediately. We received excellent care for 5 hours, getting chest xrays, blood tests, CA scan and urinalysis. We were discharged with some new prescriptions.

QUESTION: how does this compare with the treatment we can expect at The Villages?

[PennBF]

For the last 10 years we have relied on Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. It is a 2 Hr 30 Minute
drive from the Villages and is a great facility. There are great treatment and experimental plans at Mayo. There is a plan e.g.that uses tissue from prior surgery to establish a plan (Mayo saves tissue from surgery for 10 years) and another plan that uses genetic research to determine specific treatments for a specific need. In addition if you need extensive radiology etc treatments, there is a house on the premises named the "Gilbert House" and you can stay there for $45 a night which includes huge rooms with two queen beds overlooking a lake and your own refrig. and dried food storage and about 3-4 times a week a group will serve dinner. One rule is that you must have a 24/7 caretaker with you and you must have a need for at least 3 days and approval from Mayo. The $45 is for both the patient and the caretaker. It can take 28 patients and since there are regular turnovers of patients it is usually able to take on new patients? In addition there are employees to handle rooms cleanings, linens, etc. As an aside, the house was built and donated to Mayo by the founder and owner of a famous "Rum Company" who had a lung transplant at Mayo and was so thankful he built the house and gave it to Mayo. There are rules e.g. if you are waiting for a heart transplant you must stay within a certain time limit from the house, etc. You do not need a car as there
are shuttles that will take you from the house to one of the Mayo buildings on the property. Just an idea if you ever need great medical care and facility. :popcorn:

[JoMar]

The Villages health care centers will not accept original Medicare for primary care treatment. They will only accept a United Health advantage plan or a Florida Blue advantage plan. But, there are many primary care providers and specialists in the area who will accept original Medicare and Tricare.

I moved here from the northern Virginia area also, and, in my opinion, the quality and availability of health care in Virginia was far superior.

I need to temper that a bit.....you will find that everything here in TV is inferior to what we experienced from where ever we came from....health care, foods, sports etc. I have a couple neighbors from VA, one Richmond, one Virginia Beach.....both are in the Health System here and one found it equal to, and one found it better than. You know your expectations, you can tour and interview the providers and see how they match up to what you are looking for. The Villages Hospital and Leesburg Hospital, like Sands in Gainesville are UF hospitals. The ER on 44 is a UF ER. The Medical Centers are run and staffed by The Villages and are integrated into the UF Systems but not part of the UF System. I urge you to talk directly with the providers rather than getting opinions on here for something as important as your health care.

[villagetinker]

OP, contact SHINE (SHINE - Home (http://floridashine.org/)) for unbiased information regarding supplemental and advantage plans, but it is my understanding you already have the gold standard and this is not accepted by the Villages health Care system. Please call them to verify. You will still be able to use VHCS specialists you will not be able to have a Primary Care Physician in VHCS. There may PCP in the area that will be able to take care of you. Do your due diligence the health care systems here can be confusing.

[Number 10 GI]

I'm retired Army and we have doctors not affiliated with The Villages health system. We found a good family doctor in Leesburg that takes Medicare and TriCare, Leesburg Hospital also accepts these plans and we haven't had any out of pocket costs. My wife has a number of medical problems and has had to go to the ER at the Leesburg hospital quite a few times. She has had great care and a very dedicated and friendly staff attending her. We had friends who have lived in TV for a long time that directed us to a cardiologist we both needed and he recommended a family doctor to us which turned out to be very fortunate for us. He is a dedicated and caring professional that has shown his commitment to providing us with excellent care. He has also recommended competent specialists to us for my wife's medical problems. Your Medicare and TriCare is enthusiastically welcomed by the majority of doctors, hospitals and clinics in the surrounding area. Too many people here are afraid of leaving the "bubble" of The Villages and don't seek medical care in Leesburg or the surrounding area. We have received good care with our medical providers.

[Inexes@aol.com]

I'm retired Army and we have doctors not affiliated with The Villages health system. We found a good family doctor in Leesburg that takes Medicare and TriCare, Leesburg Hospital also accepts these plans and we haven't had any out of pocket costs. My wife has a number of medical problems and has had to go to the ER at the Leesburg hospital quite a few times. She has had great care and a very dedicated and friendly staff attending her. We had friends who have lived in TV for a long time that directed us to a cardiologist we both needed and he recommended a family doctor to us which turned out to be very fortunate for us. He is a dedicated and caring professional that has shown his commitment to providing us with excellent care. He has also recommended competent specialists to us for my wife's medical problems. Your Medicare and TriCare is enthusiastically welcomed by the majority of doctors, hospitals and clinics in the surrounding area. Too many people here are afraid of leaving the "bubble" of The Villages and don't seek medical care in Leesburg or the surrounding area. We have received good care with our medical providers.

Listen to this poster..... we have been here 20+ years. You have the "gold standard" in coverage. Do not consider changing it for anything, Everyone around here accepts this coverage, no questions asked. I add.... the Villages Health Care does not accept it, but all the specialists associated with same DO accept it. You will find exceptional cardiac and orthopedic physicians in the area, and more & more really good Primary Care physicians are coming here also. You will not have any problem with Medicare & TriCare for Life.