Wellness Travel - The New Prescription

 

Wellness Travel 

There’s been lots of buzz about it, increasing numbers of Canadians are going for it, and it brings a renewed sense of wellness to those that connect to the right sources for it.

‘Wellness travel,’ ‘medical tourism’ or ‘medical travel,’ – all buzz words used by people who seek treatment in other countries. It has a different definition for everyone. Some Canadians seek reasonably priced dental and surgical procedures; others look for stem cell, cancer and wellness treatments.

Snowbirds combine it with their time down south, close to the borders of California and Arizona, and many vacationers escaping the throngs of our Canadian winter add a light medical procedure or dental treatment to their planned vacation. Sound interesting? Like most people who consider going outside of Canada for medical treatment, the first question is where would one start? A quick search on Google for ‘medical tourism’ can be really intimidating – there are an overwhelming number of options available. Many facilities don’t have well translated English websites. Often times, communication can be fractured, and sometimes you don’t know exactly what you are asking for or what you will be actually getting. Trying to book a flight for returning home after surgery can be an exercise in frustration, and people do not realize specialized medical travel insurance is needed when going abroad. Traveling safely for dental treatment or a medical procedure and coordinating continued care at home, is not a task for the do it yourself crowd.

It’s important to find a Medical Travel Professional who can assist and guide you to the right facility and location for your needs. This is exactly where Adele Kulyk, CEO, of Global Healthcare Connections, a Saskatoon based company comes in. Adele was the first Certified Medical Travel Specialist in Canada and has spent the last half decade working tirelessly on behalf of her clients to find personalized medical care solutions around the world. From treating life-threatening diseases like cancer to providing quality-of-life treatments in dental, bariatric and cosmetic surgery, Adele has partnered with leading medical facilities in multiple locations. She personally travels to each facility and meets with physicians and caregivers to ensure the level of treatment is far above any expectations Canadians may have.

One of Adele’s longest lasting and strongest partnerships is with Almater Hospital in Mexico. It was the first hospital Adele toured back in 2010 and it’s also where she sought treatment in October of 2013. It is where many of her clients experience personalized, professional care. Located in Mexicali, Mexico, Adele describes Almater Hospital as “a crown jewel in the desert; the owners and staff are just like extended family.” Almater has been quietly attending to the needs of American and Canadian patients for more than 20 years. Every month, hundreds of American and Canadian patients choose Almater for a level of personal, attentive healthcare that is uncommon even among the best US hospitals. “We want to make it as easy as possible, so that there is no hesitation and people feel comfortable to come,” says Diana Cota, who oversees international care at Almater, where roughly 20 percent of patients come from outside Mexico. “Even before the point where someone is suffering or waiting too long for surgery in Canada, we want them here so we can help.”