Davao Region as Retirement Haven

Can the Davao Region really become the retirement destination that they’ve been promoting recently? Much has been made lately about Davao’s desire to became a retirement home for OFW and foreigners. There have been quite a few articles written, but in this article from the SunStar they discuss one of the potential roadblocks to that goal – medical care. It’s not that Davao doesn’t currently have adequate medical care, because as Philippine cities go, it does.

The interesting thing about this article is the discussion as to whether that care is appropriate for the retired person that the region is trying to entice. Is there enough care available for the needs of an increased older population requiring more attention? Is the care to the level that the retiring foreigner may be used to? Are the facilities trained to and is the equipment capable of handling the specialized needs of the older patients?

One thought put forward was to convert a vacant resort (Samal Casino?) into a specialty hospital to handle these kinds of issues and patients. This is an intriguing idea, as many of the potential retirees may choose to live on Samal Island, if not have second homes there. But for those that aren’t on the island there will be the problem of transportation. While it’s not a long ferry ride to IGaCoS, it can take some time from start to finish, especially if the hospital is located further south on the island. Those not living on the island and in poor health may not welcome the inconvenience of the time and distance. It should be noted the proposal here discusses surgeries and recoveries, which may not make the travel as much of an issue as it’s not uncommon to travel for specialized surgery.

Most of them are really looking at the availability of high quality health care facilities. How many local doctors are now specializing in geriatrics? Surely we will need more of them if we are to attract retirees. In terms of nurses, we already have the best nurses in the world to take special care of them. Are the medical equipment and facilities of our hospitals at par with the ones abroad? Can we handle the illnesses common to the elderly? We need to assure them that we have the necessary human resources, facilities and infrastructures to take care of them if ever they get sick. 

I hope that investors can look into that idle resort hotel in the Island Garden City of Samal. With a few more improvements, this can be transformed into a resort hospital where people who want privacy can have their operations and enjoy resort living while recuperating.

This idea does seem to compliment the developments currently underway.  A specialty hospital could fit right in with the “world class” residential resorts popping up on Samal.

photo credit: francis javier