Displaced Puerto Ricans offered free check-ups, shots at Sanitas clinics

Nov. 09--Free health visits, flu shots and school vaccinations are available for individuals and families from Puerto Rico who relocated to South Florida after Hurricane Maria pummeled the island.

Health insurer Florida Blue is offering the free care in conjunction with its partner Sanitas Medical Centers at eight Sanitas facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

The free visits are available indefinitely to all displaced Puerto Rico residents, whether or not they have an existing health insurance plan, Florida Blue spokesman Doug Bartel said.

Proof of travel to the United States mainland after Sept. 1 is required, he said.

Adults can receive a free health checkup and flu shot at any Sanitas location. Children are offered no-cost school physicals and vaccinations at three Miami-Dade locations only, Bartel said.

The clinics will work with patients who may need medical help beyond the initial checkup, he said.

"Our first priority is to ensure people have access to a primary care visit. We'll certainly work with them to get follow-up care if they have chronic conditions or if their initial check up determines they have a condition that needs further attention," he said.

More than 143,000 Puerto Ricans have arrived in Florida since Oct. 3, according to a Twitter statement from the Florida State Emergency Response Team forwarded by Lauren Schenone, press secretary for Gov. Rick Scott. The governor's office has said up to 250,000 are expected to relocate in the state as infrastructure on the island is rebuilt.

Many will find opportunity for work in Florida's tight labor market, particularly in South and Central Florida.

The free Sanitas visits can provide health checkups adults might need before starting employment, and the physicals children are required to have before enrolling in school, Bartel said.

In South Florida, physicals and vaccinations for children are available only at full-service Sanitas clinics in Miami-Dade County. From Broward County, the closest is in Miami Lakes at 18610 NW 87th Ave.

The other full-service Sanitas clinics accepting children are in Doral at 2000 NW 87th Ave. and in Kendall at 7135 SW 117th Ave. Another full-service clinic in Tampa, at 3617 W. Hillsborough Ave., also provides services to children.

Adults can get free doctor visits and free flu shots at any of the above locations, as well as these:

* Lauderdale Lakes, 4900 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Suite 105.

* Plantation, 180 SW 84th Ave., Suite B, and 220 SW 84th Ave., Suite 201.

* Coral Springs, 2901 Coral Hills Drive, Building 1, Suite 370

* Hialeah, 7100 W. 20th Ave., Suite 111

* Coral Gables, 2601 SW 37th Ave., Suites 802 and 806

Services for adults will also be available at the newest Sanitas clinic in Boynton Beach after its January opening at 1501 N. Congress Ave.

Appointments are required and available by calling 877-852-7242. For more information about Sanitas, visit mysanitas.com.

Sanitas Medical Centers are a joint venture of GuideWell, the parent company of Florida Blue, and Organización Sanitas Internacional, a health care business group with clinics and hospitals in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil.

Sanitas specializes in "culturally relevant," holistic, high-quality health care at reasonable prices, Bartel said. It accepts patients with Florida Blue insurance and Medicare Advantage.

Sanitas locations also accept patients without health insurance who are paying by cash. A list of self-pay prices located in lobbies of Sanitas centers include $100 to $200 for office visits, $81 for preventative checkups for an adult or child [$47 for established patients], $30 for a flu shot, $21 for a strep throat test, $5 for a blood draw and a complete blood count for $16.

rhurtibise@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4071, twitter: twitter.com/ronhurtibise

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