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Do you need ambulance services to get to the hospital in Costa Rica? Then make sure you know your Tico address. This is important so the ambulance will know where to find you. We don’t have real addresses, you know! If you don’t want the ambulance to get lost, ask your neighbor for your address now and write it down. So you can copy/paste it quickly when you need it. Don’t wait until you need ambulance services. By then, it might be too late! Many clients who bought a home from us took months to learn how to spell their address.
If you have a medical emergency, you can take an Uber. But if you have to call an ambulance, Costa Rica has no street addresses, and some of these hospitals might be difficult to find. Unless you’re handy using Google Maps on your phone. It might be easier to call 911 and ask for an ambulance, and they will send a Red Cross ambulance. If you don’t want to wait for the ambulance, hop in a cab, and if you can find one, tell the driver, “Al hospital más cercano, urgentemente por favor.”
There is little control over the over 50 ambulance services offered in Costa Rica. Therefore, do your homework before you need to make an emergency call. Do your homework now!
Private Insurance or Caja?
When you are picked up by the ambulance, tell them if you want to go to a public or private hospital. Typically, ambulance drivers will take you to a hospital that belongs to the Caja (Public).
If you have an INS or another insurance, you might want to go to the closest private hospital. If you are registered at the CCSS or CAJA, you can go to any of their hospitals and learn which ones are public hospitals. But, if you have a medical emergency and don’t have healthcare insurance, you will be attended at a CAJA hospital, but you’ll be charged.
Red Cross Ambulance Services
The Red Cross, or la Cruz Roja, has branches throughout Costa Rica. Most of their employees are volunteers. They are the ones who will give ambulance services when you call 911. La Cruz Roja is also equipped to provide medical emergency services. They are also present for
- rescue work in the mountains
- medical assistance on the beaches
- assist in fighting forest fires
- medical assistance at different events like the tope.
In the past, they covered their costs by distributing the phone book from house to house. We all know what happened to that! 44% of their funds come from the Costa Rican government. The rest come from private donations, bingos, and sales from their website. Therefore, it is important you help a hand when they request your financial help.
Private Ambulance Services
There are very few private ambulance services in Costa Rica, and most of them function by affiliation.
- The largest private ambulance service in Costa Rica is probably Emergencias Medicas, which has ambulances in many locations and is only for members.
- Linea Vital is located in Atenas and Quepos
- ProVida is located in the Central Valley, only by affiliate membership.
- Trasmedic only for affiliates
- LifeGuard services Nosara, Santa Teresa, Malpais, Cobano, and Monteverde.
- SAPSA only affiliate membership.
- Costa Rica Medical Response offers private ambulance services, medical assistance in all national territory, and travel assistance.
- Ambulancias y Paramedicos Costa Rica is located in San Ramon de Alajuela.
- Innovadora Medica is located in San Jose.
Air Ambulance
You might need to be flown in from difficult places outside the Central Valley, and if you have private health insurance, it is probably better to go to a private hospital than to be attended to in the boonies.
- LifeGuard offers air ambulances. They offer payment with different credit cards.
- Costa Rica Medical Response offers national and international air ambulance services.
- Horizon Air Ambulance can do international ambulance services into and out of Costa Rica.
- Helijet Local and International EMS. 24/7 Helicopter Medical Emergency Services (HEMS), weather permitting. They are pet friendly!
- Central de Vuelos Ambulancia – Air ambulance and repatriation.
Are you moving to Costa Rica or have real estate related questions? We’d love to assist. Then request a Zoom meeting with us now.
