[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by BrianConley

LOL...you want top hospitals/top care, move to Boston and be stuck indoors for 6 months. See what that does to your health.

I’m stuck indoors for 6 months here! Except it’s for heat not cold, lol. Thank goodness for AC in my house, lanai, garage, car, and golf cart! 😂

[NotGolfer]

I'm originally from Minnesota, where MAYO is based. Years ago they were stellar but more recently, from what I hear, not so much. Health-care in the U.S. is more profit driven than patient-care (IMO). To compare "here" from "there"---where people came from is unfair (also M.O.). It seems folks want their "there" to be "here" so my question might be, why did you move to a place you think is so terrible. People even complain about the governance, the food and more....though I digress!!

We've been here 15 yrs and have used the healthcare over the years. The last time(s) for us was the hospitals this past year and we experienced noticable improvements. We had life-threatening experiences but I would say, we're still here!! You'll find something negative no matter where you live!! Years ago, we moved to a little bedroom community to Madison, WI. They had a small community hospital. Many of the locals would tell us never to use that hospital but we did. We found it to be a better than good hospital. The large ones in the bigger city also had folks who'd had "bad" experiences.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by midiwiz

I am finding a few issues with this thread. First off, is the golf cart thing, if you strap yourself to golf cart reachable logic you're pretty much screwed with a couple exceptions. I think it's funny that people here fly back home to get care, when they could have saved that money and gone somewhere down here for the same or better care. The problem is golf cart or bust in most of those cases, the other half is like yours reading this and that and not knowing the reality.

Well over the last 3 years I have lived that reality in a multiple circumstance view. First and foremost I have medical practitioners in my family. So their input was a factor in my results. I have come to find the following, also knowng that YMMV.

I have noticed there are a lot of "money grabbers" in a 50 mile radius, mostly is due to TV residents much like the companies that perform work at the residences. The hear TV and it's bonus time.

Next is personal experience with UF - Leesburg, TV and Gainsville. All of these do not communicate properly. Actually in our cases that was an F. Gainsville is Shands for only 1 part not the whole thing (another misnomer). Also this is a teaching facility, which means they have a habit of keeping you longer so that their overflow of students get clinical hours easier. This is not a good practice, I lost my mother from these 2 items. So there for the UF to me stands for "U f*cked. "

So that posed a major problem this year when I was faced with my own choice for something I never in my life expected, having to choose for my life. Trust me this wasn't easy but with some very reliable input and a prayer I went to Advent Health. Yes that meant going into the Orlando area, Ocala is for horses LOL. I have been to AH Winter Garden, Winter Park and Celebration. While I will easily admit (and so will they) that the cafeteria food is worse than dog vomit, the rest was a complete blessing. Everything that UF didn't do properly, AH did the right way, I should know I had my medical hawks watching them.

I also asked - What if something happens to me at home? Their actual answer was "You call me (care coordinator) and I will have you picked up and brought here immediately". I find that comforting that they 'wrap' you in total care, survey that is surveyed regularly, and are extremely caring people.

Am I a bit biased? Yes, they saved my life otherwise I wouldn't be writing this right now. Did they work with some deathly fear issues in a manner that was amazingly not like any one I have ever met? Yes. I trusted them blindly with my life and they proved worthy of that trust.

So that's my 2 cents, hope it helps.

During my adult life, I've been close enough to my doctors to ride my bicycle for yearly exams, pap smears, dental cleanings, vision tests, blood draws, and for a limited time, mammographies and xrays.

I can't imagine being an hour or more away from my PCP, dentist, radiology center, gynecologist, etc.

When I was a kid, our doctors were mostly the next town over, which was 15 minutes away by car.

In addition, Florida is a toll-road state. Your health insurance doesn't cover the cost of tolls, and driving the back roads to get to Orlando would probably take a couple of hours each way.

No thanks. There are 150,000 Villagers here in this three-county area. There are ALSO other people living in this 3-county area who rely on local health services. There should be at least "adequate" health services in each of these counties.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Their emergency room is horrible. .

Because the majority of people use it as their PCP for everything from a toothache to an ingrown toenail.

[Professor]

Originally Posted by NYBob

We were at TV about two years ago, really liked the area though felt healthcare/local hospitals were not up to speed. Have there been any changes/additions made in the last two years or so to address this ?

TV Hospital is currently still holding a one star CMS rating.

Find Healthcare Providers: Compare Care Near You | Medicare

Marginally better. Good enough for minor things, but major issues should be taken other places in my opinion. I keep a local doc for prescriptions and such, but go up north or down to Tampa General (hour and a half drive to TG) for anything complicated. Just my opinion...

[dano121]

We have been here for 2+years and our perception is that Healthcare here is much worse than up north. Most Primary Care Physicians are actually RN's. Try to see a Doctor! Oh and once you are down here you will wait months to see any new Physician or Dentist etc. After finally being referred to a Specialist then another long wait....I once asked my RN (Doc) what to do when I want to see a doctor, she replied go to a urgent care or emergency room. Now to be fair, we have decided to stay. We feel the benefits of living in the Villages surpass the difficult health care situation down here. Besides, we can always find an "in system" Doctor up north , if we have to.

[sallyg]

Shockingly poor medical care in TV. We ended up driving to Gainesville, (U of F) for our care. Not convenient, and not possible for everyone, but it gave us peace of mind and excellent care.

[MplsPete]

Many interesting comments, and since I don't live in TV (yet) I can't evaluate the healthcare in TV, but I have a theory:

I believe that there is no first class healthcare anywhere in the USA (maybe the whole world) If you are in a rural area.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by crash

They seem to be adding stand alone emergency rooms instead of hospitals. They have added one on 44 and one on 466a. The planned hospital south of 44 was cancelled due to staffing concerns.

My concern is they will double the population without any new hospitals. Only see it getting worse in the next 20 years as the population grows.

Population growth is fine.......up to SOME ? POINT where it isn't fine . The problem is at what point is more people driving the "quality of life" down? it is all arbitrary. There is no state central committee deciding when the IDEAL density is reached.

[GoldenBoy]

Originally Posted by NYBob

We were at TV about two years ago, really liked the area though felt healthcare/local hospitals were not up to speed. Have there been any changes/additions made in the last two years or so to address this ?

TV Hospital is currently still holding a one star CMS rating.

Find Healthcare Providers: Compare Care Near You | Medicare

They got the one star because they manage to open the doors on time, most mornings.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MplsPete

Many interesting comments, and since I don't live in TV (yet) I can't evaluate the healthcare in TV, but I have a theory:

I believe that there is no first class healthcare anywhere in the USA (maybe the whole world) If you are in a rural area.

It's not just rural areas - Florida is not all that great with health care in general. They have a few great medical centers scattered around the state, but mostly it's average, and worse than average. The cost of living in the areas where they have great medical care, is high enough that you won't find many "rural" patients coming into the area to make use of it.

Compare to smaller states (like Massachusetts) - you have some world-class medical facilities in Boston, and you can get to it from anywhere in the entire state in just around 3.5 hours maximum by car. Massachusetts has a LOT of farmland and other rural areas. But because of the state's overall size, it's not a big deal for any of them to get to some of the best health care in the country.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by MplsPete

I believe that there is no first class healthcare anywhere in the USA (maybe the whole world) If you are in a rural area.

Agree, our rural northern home in Western Massachusetts is pretty void of good health care. Anything beyond orthopedic or other basic well being care and we hit the road 2 1/2 hours east to either Mass General or Brigham and Women’s for some of the best healthcare in the world. In the almost 10 years we have owned a home in the Villages, we have only needed healthcare once and were miserably failed by the ER at the Villages hospital (about 3 1/2 years ago). Thank god we were able to get to Gainesville and get decent health care or I wouldn’t be alive today. I have considered getting a tattoo that says “never bring me to the Villages hospital” in case I ever need first responder transportation.

[midiwiz]

[QUOTE=Jensor17;2392614]

Originally Posted by midiwiz

I am finding a few issues with this thread. First off, is the golf cart thing, if you strap yourself to golf cart reachable logic you're pretty much screwed with a couple exceptions. I think it's funny that people here fly back home to get care, when they could have saved that money and gone somewhere down here for the same or better care. The problem is golf cart or bust in most of those cases, the other half is like yours reading this and that and not knowing the reality.

Well over the last 3 years I have lived that reality in a multiple circumstance view. First and foremost I have medical practitioners in my family. So their input was a factor in my results. I have come to find the following, also knowng that YMMV.

I have noticed there are a lot of "money grabbers" in a 50 mile radius, mostly is due to TV residents much like the companies that perform work at the residences. The hear TV and it's bonus time.

Next is personal experience with UF - Leesburg, TV and Gainsville. All of these do not communicate properly. Actually in our cases that was an F. Gainsville is Shands for only 1 part not the whole thing (another misnomer). Also this is a teaching facility, which means they have a habit of keeping you longer so that their overflow of students get clinical hours easier. This is not a good practice, I lost my mother from these 2 items. So there for the UF to me stands for "U f*cked. "

So that posed a major problem this year when I was faced with my own choice for something I never in my life expected, having to choose for my life. Trust me this wasn't easy but with some very reliable input and a prayer I went to Advent Health. Yes that meant going into the Orlando area, Ocala is for horses LOL. I have been to AH Winter Garden, Winter Park and Celebration. While I will easily admit (and so will they) that the cafeteria food is worse than dog vomit, the rest was a complete blessing. Everything that UF didn't do properly, AH did the right way, I should know I had my medical hawks watching them.

I also asked - What if something happens to me at home? Their actual answer was "You call me (care coordinator) and I will have you picked up and brought here immediately". I find that comforting that they 'wrap' you in total care, survey that is surveyed regularly, and are extremely caring people.

Am I a bit biased? Yes, they saved my life otherwise I wouldn't be writing this right now. Did they work with some deathly fear issues in a manner that was amazingly not like any one I have ever met? Yes. I trusted them blindly with my life and they proved worthy of that trust.

So that's my 2 cents, hope it helps.[/QUOTE

The Villages and nearby areas have foreign doctors that do not meet American qualification requirements. BEWARE FOREIGN “DRs” HERE AND FLY HOME TO YOUR STATE OF ORIGIN TO LEGITIMATE PHYSICIANS.
I went to Mayo in Jacksonville for 2 joint replacements & would fly back to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland for any more surgery, or eye care like Wilmer Eye Institute.
I sought doctor care soon after I moved to The Villages and AFTER SEEING THE “DOCTOR” I DISCOVERED HE WAS A FLORIDA REGISTERED NURSE who practices as an actual doctor and set up facilities in Mulberry, Colony and now at Urgent Care in Summerfield.
His staff calls him doctor, but he’s an RN and he does not have a full-fledged MD on site as law requires, to diagnose and authorize prescriptions.

RN or NP??? There is a difference between the two. All NPs are still registered as a nurse in this state, yet are able to provide services like a doctor IF they renewed their license with certain notations. Other than that sorry you are so short sighted on the origin of the doctor. As there are many doctors that are not American that are actually better than the Americans. Also NPs tend to be far better than Doctors. You might want to get out of 1930....it's all changed and for the better.

[midiwiz]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

During my adult life, I've been close enough to my doctors to ride my bicycle for yearly exams, pap smears, dental cleanings, vision tests, blood draws, and for a limited time, mammographies and xrays.

I can't imagine being an hour or more away from my PCP, dentist, radiology center, gynecologist, etc.

When I was a kid, our doctors were mostly the next town over, which was 15 minutes away by car.

In addition, Florida is a toll-road state. Your health insurance doesn't cover the cost of tolls, and driving the back roads to get to Orlando would probably take a couple of hours each way.

No thanks. There are 150,000 Villagers here in this three-county area. There are ALSO other people living in this 3-county area who rely on local health services. There should be at least "adequate" health services in each of these counties.

don't really care how many are in TV, that doesn't matter with anything else, so why here there's nothing special about those 150,000 people. They do still drive, and the tolls shouldn't matter if your health isn't worth 5 bucks extra out of your pocket then ... whatever. Stay in Mayberry. Your choice, but I really do not agree with your logic.

[midiwiz]

Originally Posted by dano121

We have been here for 2+years and our perception is that Healthcare here is much worse than up north. Most Primary Care Physicians are actually RN's. Try to see a Doctor! Oh and once you are down here you will wait months to see any new Physician or Dentist etc. After finally being referred to a Specialist then another long wait....I once asked my RN (Doc) what to do when I want to see a doctor, she replied go to a urgent care or emergency room. Now to be fair, we have decided to stay. We feel the benefits of living in the Villages surpass the difficult health care situation down here. Besides, we can always find an "in system" Doctor up north , if we have to.

they are not a RN... they are a NP which is much different. and you do have the entire scenario wrong, most PCPs around here are PhD's and nome are ARNPs, NONE are RNs.