Optimus Fitness Center – Gym in Santa Ana

by Ivo Henfling

Getting in shape is hard work but a lot of fun if you do it in the right place and with the right guides.

No matter where you live now, and if you are in good health or not, exercise is necessary when you get older, grow fat or don’t want to watch TV for the rest of your life. You will have several options to stay fit in Escazu and Santa Ana, high budget and low budget.

We do not only tell you about Santa Ana property for sale so today, I’d like to tell you about the Optimus Fitness Center in Santa Ana, in the MegaSuper building, across from Forum I on the highway San José – Caldera.   This fitness center is nothing fancy and their prices are very reasonable, at least they are for now, in October 2012 and I am very happy going there.

By Ivo Henfling

I have been struggling with bad pain in my feet for years and no doctor could find what the problem was. Thank God for the internet (not of Facebook this time), that made it possible for me to find out that I have a neurological problem. A Costa Rica real estate agent who cannot walk is no good, so I decided to do something about it.

In Costa Rica, the advantage is that if you have a medical problem, you do not need to be referred by any doctor. You just find a doctor in the phone book and make the appointment.

That is how simple it was for me to make an appointment with a neurologist in CIMA hospital in Escazu, a private hospital in Costa Rica. The doctor had me do a neurological electrogram and confirmed that I have a painful neuropathy and I won’t bother you with the rest of the mile long name. What I had also found on the web was that my problem is something that is mostly suffered by diabetics and I am not one.

by Ivo Henfling

If you need ambulance services in Costa Rica to get to the hospital, make sure you know your Tico address so the ambulance will know where to find and will not get lost, or ask a local to give the ambulance the address. It's amazing how many people I sold a home in Costa Rica and it took them months to learn their address.

Because we don’t have any street addresses in Costa Rica, some of these hospitals might be a bit difficult for you to find, so it might be easier to call 911 and ask for an ambulance, so they will send a Red Cross ambulance.

If you don’t want to wait for the ambulance just hop in a cab and tell the driver “al hospital más cercano urgentemente por favor”.

By Ivo Henfling

If you have residency in Costa Rica you are obliged to be registered at the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social  or C.C.S.S.  though this government mannaged health care system has long been broke. To see any doctors, you will need to start standing in line at 4:00 am to get attended and most of the time they’ll give you an appointment 6 months later. The system works though for those who do not have private insurance like I.N.S. or any other insurance company, you just need to be a bit patient and bring a book.

No matter where you bought a property in Costa Rica and decided to live, the time will come that you will need medical attention.

What I hear from retired people and expats coming from other parts of the world, is that the Costa Rican public hospital system and the doctors attention to sick patients is a lot better than it is in many parts of the world. I really don’t know because the two times that I was in a public hospital was to pick up my wife after giving birth to our kids, but that was 25 and 27 years ago.

By Ivo Henfling

Lately I’m seeing a lot of the inside of Costa Rica hospitals. Since I quit smoking 3 years ago, I started going to the doctor. I haven’t seen any doctor in my life and now suddenly I need to see all kinds of doctors. Most doctors in Costa Rica hold office in the same private hospital they operate in. In Costa Rica you don’t need to be referred to a specialist, you just make an appointment.

I have never been in a US hospital and the last time I was in a hospital in Europe was like 40 years ago but I hear from many clients that the Costa Rica hospital services and are outstanding and that medical services here are on a very high level. Most doctors speak excellent English because many have specialized in the US or in the UK.

By Ivo Henfling

Nothing is better for business than a good service to your clients. In my business, Costa Rica real estate, I have always tried to excel in service as to my opinion it means the continuity of your business and it is a lot easier to keep an old client happy than making new clients. But mostly the larger business like banks and insurance companies have a hard time making their employees understand what good customer service is and end up with lots of frustrated clients. I am one of those who complain when service is bad. But I also think that when people do a good job, they deserve a pat on the shoulder.

This time it is don Isidro’s turn for a well-deserved pat on the shoulder. Who the heck is don Isidro some of you might say? Those who have asked me, after closing on their house, where to get their home insured and their car insurance, or a medical insurance, know who don Isidro is. Isidro gives an extraordinary service as an insurance agent for INS, learn how he keeps his clients happy.

By Ivo Henfling

When you move to Costa Rica, you will of course do so as legal as possible, which means, you will become a resident in Costa Rica while you keep your own countries’ passport.

This will give you a residency card, also called a cédula de residencia. To become a legal resident, you not only need to cut through all the red tape that becoming a resident in any country of the world will oblige you to, now you also need to become a member of the Costa Rica social security system, called Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social or CCSS.

You will, besides the CCSS, want to have a complementary medical insurance that I.N.S. (Instituto Nacional de Seguros) offers.

By Isabelle Jones

Last Thursday, our 20 year old son Taylor had a medical emergency in San Jose due to a seizure. That day, we found out that the medical emergency care in Costa Rica is very good and affordable, if you can get to the hospital in time.

A good friend needed help in getting his new ID number to reflect on his new drivers’ license, so even though we live in Atenas we were in San Jose for this diligence. Howard, my husband, Taylor and I were driving from the license office to a school in Heredia, an accident and protest on the highway to the airport made us go a different route than normal. Our son had complained of a severe headache that morning but he took a couple of Ibuprofen and wanting to make sure he ate well, we were just discussing stopping for lunch.

By Ivo Henfling

One of the best things I've ever done for myself: Lasik eye surgery. When you move or retire  to Costa Rica, you migth want to do yourself a favor and see if you're a candidate for Lasik Eye surgery. Costa Rica offers lots of medical tourism, and you can get yourself new teeth, new eyes, new eyelids and many other new " things" for yourself at half the cost of what it would cost in the US or Europe. Costa Rica medical services are very much up to date, as the following blog will show you.

I've used glasses since I was like 9 or 10 I believe as I had myopia. I always hated it. I've always done lots of sports (I know, you wouldn't tell right now) and nothing worse than having to use glasses. As a kid, I've broken plenty. How can you expect from a kid who is invited to a soccer game on the street to tell his friends to "hang on, I need to go change glasses".

By Ivo Henfling

I received awesome health care attention by Urologist Dr. Carlos Calvosa Allegretti. Since most of our clients are over 50 years old, I though it well worth it to tell you about a great experience that I have had with my urologist.

After living 30 years in Costa Rica I still hate those doctors that love to fill up their waiting room and probably need to show us, their patients, that they are busy professionals. I am a busy real estate agent and there is nothing worse than sitting in a waiting room for more than 15 - 20 minutes. But Costa Rica health care has become a lot better than it used to me and you can get better medial services than in many 2nd world countries.

Actually, just this week, my Otorino had me again waiting for 1 1/2 hours in his waiting room, but I'll tell you more about that one another day. For now, let me give you the good news.

by Cristina Izquierdo for El Financiero on 23/11/2010

The construction of the Cima Hospital and Medical Center Guanacaste has begun on November 2^nd 2010, after many months of waiting. This will be  Cima's second medical center. The first opened in Escazu, San Jose early 2000.

The project will be developped over a total area of 220,000 square meters by Proyectos Exclusivos Proexa S.Aand will be built in several stages.

During the construction phase, 400 direct and indirect jobs will be created  and when finished will generate 275 more jobs.