Health Care In Delaware (Wilmington, Dover: transplants, 2015, dermatology)

[wvs820]

Hi Everybody,

My wife and I are baby boomers we will both be 61 later this year. We are finally really getting serious as to where to live later in life. There is no way we want to grow old here in Jersey. We are agonizing over where to start. We love the 4 seasons and Florida,Georgia and the Carolinas are definitely off our list. We both hate the heat and humidity. The great thing about Jersey is you for the most part get 4 seasons. The only other great thing is that the health care here is fantastic. No shortage of doctors and hospitals here. The cost of living here is insane. Without going into great detail this is no place to spend your golden years. I was born in Wilmington and moved to Jersey when I was 5 years old. My parents are laid to rest here as well (Silver Brook Cemetery). As my research is showing is that the health care in Delaware is not keeping up with the population explosion of baby boomers moving there. Please put our minds at ease for those who have already made the move to Delaware. Will the health care situation (hospitals,doctors) get better as the population increases. Thank you for your advice. Kind regards, Bill and Susan

[arabus]

I live in Dover and can only speak of this region. Finding a primary care doctor is almost impossible. Right now I am on a 6 month waiting list for a good doctor. However, there are walk in clinics available in this area. Rheumatologists are rare, I go to Johns Hopkins for that and for diabetes care. The Bayhealth hospital system in southern Delaware seems satisfactory. Northern Delaware uses the Christiana Hospital system.

I don't have any info on Northern Delaware, the beach area or the more southern part of Delaware.

Delaware is a small state and Maryland is close to the west and south. Barring any changes in Medicare I would suggest traditional which allows treatment nationwide.

[rdlr]

You might say I'm biased, as a 79 year local of Kent County, Delaware. Our family and friends have had successful experiences with all types of health issues in our lifetimes...cardiac, cancer, hip-knee replacements, etc, thanks to BayHealth (Kent General Hospital). Some may not know, but Bay Health is affiliated with University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine).

Here are just a couple links regarding Penn Medicine/Bayhealth's affiliation:
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hea...hopaedics-penn
and
https://www.bayhealth.org/heart-and-vascular

Most of the doctors/specialists we've talked with throughout our many years here are not locals, but come from larger, impressive hospitals/medical centers. Like most other transplants, doctors and surgeons have moved to Delaware for a more quiet, less expensive way of life. We've benefited from these smart, young doctors and surgeons who've moved here, as they have improved our health care system. It's been our experience, that our friends and family no longer have to travel to other states for top level medical care.

My personal, family physician moved here from Philadelphia, having completed his residency in Jefferson Hospital. I can't say enough good things about my young, smart doctor, who I've had for the past 12 years. He's affiliated with the BayHealth/Penn network.

Good luck to all of you!

[rothbear]

We moved here in 2015. In the past 3 years I have been to BayHealth in Dover 4 times (2 surgeries, 2 other), the BH Dover ER once, the BH Smyrna ER once and several doctors. I can truthfully say that I have not had a bad experience. The care at the hospital has been great and when did have a problem with an unruly roommate I was moved almost immediately. All the nurses have been wonderful. The doctors have been great as well. I have dealt with several docs at a surgical group and they all are great, and still here. I have also seen an internist and orthopedist. When I developed complications of a double hernia my surgeon admitted it was probably beyond his scope and he helped me find a wonderful surgical team at Penn Med to fix the problem.

There seems to be a "love it or hate it" attitude here, but frankly I have not had problems. My neighbor was in BH with a neurological problem which was hard to diagnose. He went to a specialist who found it and got treatment started. He is now in our new rehab hospital and improving every day. He has had no complaints. Yes there are docs moving in and out but I think you will find that everywhere. Yes you might have to wait for an appointment as a new patient, but once in it is usually pretty quick if you really need to get in to see somewhat.

Good luck!

[lyndyb]

We moved to Sussex County in the last half of 2019. If you like the area, I would recommend you consider calling to get new patient appointments in advance of your relocation. I went into the "find a network doctor" on my health provider web site for a list of doctors in the area that were "In Network" as a starting point - and asked some friends who moved here before us for recommendations. Some of our friends acted on getting established with doctors before they actually relocated. We failed to do this in advance but have been successful in getting appointments, but have had to wait 3-6 months for the appointments. This is why I recommend you work in advance, as we should have done. I called one dermatology practice and was told that I had to arrange to have our medical files sent to them and AFTER they received it, they'd call to put us on a 6-12 month waiting list. I passed and was able to get appointments with another practice - in 4 months.

In the meantime, we haven't broken up with any of our doctors until we have a replacement. We lived in the Baltimore area, so while it is potentially inconvenient to travel there if we have a medical problem, it's doable - as I daresay it would be in Jersey. Had we stayed in MD, we would have been looking for new doctors anyway, as most of our physicians were in their 60's. Our allergist had already retired and our dentist and my GYN have sold their practices and work as contractors, which is usually the first step before retirement.

So far, I've seen 2 doctors and I like both of them. One comes from the area where we used to live. I think/hope this area will attract young doctors, as I'd think they could find quick success in a practice or easy hire with one of the healthcare systems.

Best of luck to you!

[Suzsilk]

My husband and I relocated to Southern Delaware from New Jersey in 2016. Both of us had little difficulty finding primary care doctors and we have been pleased with the care. Once while my daughter was down and not feeling well, we went to one of the Walk-In type places and we waited forever, only to see a Nurse Practitioner. Thus, I wouldn't recommend using them. There is a brand new hospital in Milford. Once we used the ER when my husband wasn't feeling well. They were thorough. Being a new hospital, the wait was very short and after the tests, the Dr. came in and spoke with us, answering all our questions with no feeling of being rushed. Routine appointments take a while initially, but once seen, we just make the next appointment at that time. We love living in Southern Delaware.

[wvs820]

Thank you Everybody

[Gerania]

Didn't longneckone have some problems with either specialists or scheduling procedures?