Roatan Life : Healthcare and the “Gold Standard”
by Carter Clews

Keyhole Bay, Roatan is an exclusive community, from the gated guardhouse to the private beach.

This meticulously planned enclave consists of the finest construction, finest amenities available, and some of the finest views on the island. This exquisite condominium community is worth a second and even third look – yet it is still affordable at pre-construction pricing now being offered.

To some, Keyhole Bay will be a permanent home; for others a second home, a rental property, or a vacation getaway.

According to CNN Money, “The Honduras Bay Islands are the top international markets for second home buyers.” Because it is a place in the sun, overlooking the cresting Caribbean Sea, this is the closest thing to perfect that serious settlers and second home buyers are likely to find.

At Keyhole Bay your every need has been carefully scrutinized and anticipated, from international banking to pure relaxation, from shopping to eating, from entertainment to healthcare.

Yes...But what of health and medical care in Roatan specifically, and more generally in Honduras many of you have asked?

Roatan is a long serpent shaped island, about 40 miles long and an average of 1 mile wide. For descriptive purposes locally, it’s divided into thirds; the Western third, the Eastern third and the middle, or Center Island.

THERE ARE MEDICAL CLINICS THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND

There are medical clinics throughout the island; the ones expats generally use are Polo Galindo Clinic on the eastern end, Clinica Gomez in French Harbour in the middle of the island, and for the western end of the island, which is the most populated by tourists and foreign residents, there are a couple of options.

Cornerstone Clinic in Anthony’s Key Resort is also home to one of the two hyperbaric chambers on Roatan and is staffed by two English-speaking doctors. This clinic is an excellent primary care facility, and will evaluate and refer for more specialist care.

Across the street is Clinica Esperanza, known locally as Nurse Peggy’s hospital. Funded entirely by donation and used primarily by locals, but also by foreigners who live here.

The other option for the western part of Roatan is Woods Medical Center, an 8-bed hospital, with lab and out patient clinic in the town of Coxon Hole.

In general, people use the excellent medical facilities on mainland Honduras for most of their needs.

The closest city is La Ceiba, which is a 15 minute plane ride across to the north coast, or CEMESA in San Pedro Sula, which involves a further 20 minutes of flight time, or the capital city of Tegucigalpa, which is home to Honduras Medical Center, one of the most modern facilities in Central America.

Opened in June 2003, Honduras Medical Center is an international quality hospital that has 74 in-patient beds, 31 ambulatory service beds, 5 operating rooms, full diagnostic services including an all-digital radiology department with a MRI and a high speed CT Scan.

THE CAMPUS INCLUDES A MEDICAL OFFICE COMPLEX OF 123 SUITES FOR PHYSICIAN OFFICES

The campus includes a medical office complex of 123 suites for physician offices, as well as an advanced trauma center. The Center is a joint venture between The Family Hospital Group of Companies of Boston, Massachusetts and Grupo Atlantida of Honduras to provide comprehensive, world class medical care to the people of Honduras. Grupo Atlantida is a diversified financial services organization, which includes the largest bank in Honduras and an insurance company.

CEMESA, in San Pedro Sula, has full services for in and out patient care. Several of the hospital rooms are suites, where a family member can stay with the patient. All services are available here, from simple emergency room visits, to annual examinations, to complex heart surgery. Many of the doctors at CEMESA speak excellent English. This facility is the most popular choice for residents of Roatan.

In the city of La Ceiba, Hospital D’Antoni has all medical specialties covered and provides very good medical care. Not as many doctors here speak English, however, but there is always someone close by to help with translation. This is also true at the newly-expanded Medicentro, a clinical complex for outpatient care. The facility has a full laboratory, pharmacy and a wide range of specialties. All the doctors are affiliated with hospital D’Antoni for surgical and in-patient support.

Medical insurance is available in Honduras, but the cost of care and medication is so low that most people don’t have insurance. Honduras Medical Center accepts 16 overseas health insurance programs, but most places do not.

Roatan Air

Roatan Air Services is a charter plane service based on Roatan and in addition to air tours and charters in general, they are available for emergency evacuation to a mainland hospital, should the need arise.

The local airlines, Islena, Atlantic and SOSA are all very helpful with medical situations too.

SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION BY THE END OF 2008, MEDICAL AND DENTAL FACILITIES ARE PLANNED FOR KEYHOLE VILLAGE

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, medical and dental facilities are planned for Keyhole Village, Roatan, part of the upscale development of Keyhole Bay.

With the building of the Keyhole Village shopping mall, set to begin in a matter of months, its worth exploring a little more why Keyhole Bay is the owner, Dan Taylor's, magnum opus.

Dan is the owner and developer of Keyhole Bay and Keyhole Village but more importantly he is the visionary who saw what these projects should be – the absolute best. He has lived and created successful paradise-style projects all around the world... and knows exactly what to look for.

"This growth, this explosion in the Bay Islands is in its infancy. The potential for solid returns at this time is phenomenal! Even better...the government of Honduras is revising the tax structure making the islands a Free Trade Zone which will bring down the costs and many taxes and invite more development." says Dan, "For example, Capital Gains taxes will be reduced from 10% to 4% in the next few weeks. Vacation, Resort and Cruise companies are planning to double the number of visitors to the island in each of the next two years. This will drive the demand for nice properties up dramatically, while the supply of such properties is very low. These strong factors, when combined, will result in some magnificent returns for early investors."

"Besides," he adds smiling, looking out across the calm Caribbean Sea towards the distant hills of mainland Honduras, "It’s also a great place to live”.

Keyhole Bay Roatan, HondurasYes.. we love what we see at Keyhole Bay, is a universal response, but why is this ROI happening at such an incredible rate and what is sustaining it?

A simple way to illustrate a complicated answer is by reviewing the Millennium Challenge Account.

The MCA – otherwise known as the “Gold Standard” of foreign aid, was begun by the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress in 2002 to recognize and promote the economic growth and political freedom of qualified countries. It provides funding for those countries that meet the sixteen stringent indicators listed below.

Honduras was one of the first two countries in the entire world – and the very first in Latin America -- to receive actual funding from the MCA. Selected on a competitive basis, Honduras was chosen as a country that “rules justly,” invests in its people,” and “fosters enterprise and entrepreneurship.” Those are pretty good plaudits for an emerging democracy, aren’t they?

And that’s just the beginning – of why you may want to end up in this captivating country and its paradise island. Studies by groups such as the Heritage Foundation have shown that many Third World countries receiving foreign aid have actually seen their per capita income fall or stagnate. Not so with Honduras.

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION HAS CONSISTENTLY RATED HONDURAS ABOVE THE MEDIAN IN VIRTUALLY EVERY AREA OF ITS ESTEEMED INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM.

The Heritage Foundation has consistently rated Honduras above the median in virtually every area of its esteemed Index of Economic Freedom. In fact, in the area of “Freedom from Government,” Honduras actually rates 20 points higher than the United States, and in the top tier worldwide. Also, Freedom House, an organization that monitors the level of political freedom in the world, found that Honduras not only met, but often exceeded, its rigorous criteria, as used in the MCA analyses.

For a country such as Honduras to be selected as one of the first two in the world (the other was Madagascar) to receive MCA assistance, it had to demonstrate a commitment to policies that promote political and economic freedom, investments in education and health, control of corruption, respect for civil liberties, and the rule of law.

AND THE BAY ISLANDS BOOM HAS JUST BEGUN

Keyhole Bay has engineered the widest streets on the entire Island … a 30-foot waterfall cascading down into a beachside pool … an Olympic-size infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea … a modern clubhouse with its own gourmet restaurant … good healthcare a cutting-edge water system providing cool, clear drinking water for the estate, luxury condominiums, clubhouse, and shopping mall.
Keyhole Bay, Roatan

The news from Keyhole Bay is more than good if you’ve ever considered owning, renting, or investing in a proven lifestyle and proven ROI.

The second condominium residence is just going vertical at this moment, and carries the highest possibility of financial return and leisure living.