Bahnofstrasse Zurich

We have only been in Switzerland a short time (10 weeks, at last count!), but have had to use the healthcare system six times already!  Wow, I hadn’t actually counted until just now.  That’s a lot for such a short time period.

The week we arrived Jillian developed an infection and was feeling absolutely rotten.  It was 5:00pm on a Saturday night, and we quickly realized that we didn’t know who to call or what to do.  Not even our pediatrician in Minnesota would be available for a phone consultation.   So thank goodness for the internet!  

In Zurich, at the Bahnofstrasse (train station) no less, is a walk-in Urgent Care clinic.  Peter took our girl to the clinic, but because it was quite busy was directed to a kinder version across the street where they guaranteed she would be seen immediately.

Some new friends of ours have used this clinic, called Permanence, and it sounds like the physicians even handle folks with broken bones and cardiac problems!  Glad we haven’t had to deal with that.  

We hadn’t yet signed up for the compulsory health insurance, but received great care — Jillie was seen by a Pediatric Surgeon who was on-call, and the rest of the staff were equally professional.  A dose of antibiotics and some ibuprofen and she was feeling as good as new.  And front desk staff apologized for the bill — because it was emergency service which included lab work, ultrasound, and all medications.   The bill was $185.  Can you believe that?