Medical Coverage - It's as Easy as V.Z.P. Part I

So, here is a tale about my foray into the Wonderful World of Medical Coverage in Prague.When we first received Ben's Offer Letter to become one of the EU Monster Employees, there was a spreadsheet that spelled out his offer and his benefits. One of the line items discussed medical coverage and stated that we could be added under a Family Plan at an additional deduction. Okay - no different than how the coverage in the States works. No problem. However, 5 months into our stay here we found that this was not the case at all. Ben is the only one covered by Monster - end of story. The kids and I are would be on our own to set up our health insurance and we would be footing the bill.

Now, it would be completely heartless to send us out into the big city of Prague with no connections in the works...enter a company called V.Z.P. There is a story there about our first interactions with this company but that is a tale for another day. Suffice it to say, after getting the information from their office I decided to have Monster help me out with the initial set up. Tuesday I had an appointment with Emilio Bayona, HR Coordinator at Monster. He helped me get through the forms (they were all in Czech) and offered to call the hospital I would need to take myself and the children to for our pre-screening appointments. There were 2 facilities to choose from, but Emilio weeded out the not-so-good option and told me I should go to Na Homolce Hospital out in Praha 5. Sounded good and they even have a web page in English! http://www.homolka.cz/en/
Unfortunately, that is right about where the shared language ends. So, as I leave my meeting with Emilio I ask him to please have the appointments made for Thursday the 30th...and not too early since we are slow going in the am... as Alex starts school on September 3rd and I really did not want her to miss any days. I also asked if he could make appointments for our new friends the Lavelanet-Knights, since they also need to get their kids on board with this V.Z.P. coverage and they are starting school the same day as Alex.

The next day I receive an email with our scheduled appointments and times...Hodson Family, September 4th at 8:15am...Lavelanet-Knight Family, September 7th at 9:30am. First Strike but we have learned that you take what you can get over here.

I then decide the best thing to do is a trial run since I have no idea where this hospital is and it looked like I would be getting up at the crack of dawn to manage getting us there for this God-awful appointment time. Funny, I never would have had a problem with this early am stuff in the US but then again I had the comfort of a remote-start vehicle with (2) DVD panels for the kids, a 10-minute commute from home to Doctor's Office, and the prospect of (3) Dunkin Donuts Drive-Thru's for an extra large wake-up coffee.

So I ask Alain if he would be interested in making the trial run with me since he will have to make the jaunt himself and if we knew where everything was, it would make our solo runs with the kids that much easier. We meet the next day - which was a trial all of itself as the Tram Line I decided to use to meet him in Andel had gone back to its original route but the old signs were still up at our stop. Needless to say, the Hodson Clan was late as usual.

We get to Andel and Alain informs me that we need to hop on a tram to go ONE stop to the Bus Station, where we are to pick up Bus 167 to bring us out to the unknown reaches of Praha 5. We finally get on a tram and go to the one stop. This sounds easy I am sure, but add in the fact that there are 2 adults and 4 children - 2 of which are in strollers which need to be carried up the stairs of the tram by the adults thus allowing the other 2 to wreak havoc and try to find seats...all for one stop...and I think you will start to catch on that this is no easy feat at all.

Now we are at the Bus Station. After a bit of looking around, we find the sign for our bus and go park ourselves on a bench to wait. Mind you, the bus was already there in the parking lot but keeping to a strict time frame is very big here in Prague and they will not pull up and begin to load passengers until the exact minute it says they will be there on the schedule.

Off we are on the bus trip to Nemocnice Na Homolce - the end of the line for this particular bus. As we are riding we see a sign for the hospital and a stop name that is so close that we begin to question our directions. A nice young woman gestures for our paperwork and tells us that we need to get off the bus. Perhaps for the locals this would have been correct but for us, no. So we wait for the next bus and stick to the plan of going to the end of the line...lo and behold, it drops us off right at the doors of the hospital. Amazing what directions can do when they are correct!

However, here comes Strike 2. We enter the hospital and have no idea where we need to go since our information only got us to the building...not through it. I see a sign for Information and there is a couple being assisted so I figure we are in great shape. I turn to tell Alain my plans on inquiring at the desk, turn back, and the info lady has disappeared into thin air. Either we have some coding on our foreheads that reads "Run...American Coming" which was highlighted by the hospital fluorescents or it was lunchtime. Just as we are about to give up, the Security Guard in the next enclosure starts the typical Czech to English Charade Game and points down a hallway. Go this way we ask? Ano...ano. Great - we are now heading in the correct direction for all of 250 feet until you need to know left or right. Once again feeling all hope is lost, we are ready to throw in the towel...or at least find someone else to ask...when my eyes spy one of the 25 words I know in Czech - Detske (Children). This is a major find! We notice that it is on a green board and it says Patro (Floor) 1. We go in the direction of the arrow and find yet another Information Center. I decide to ask again here while Alain handles potty breaks with the kids. I am rewarded with broken English and directions to follow the green tape line on the floor to the green elevator and get off at the 1st floor where I will follow signs ( in Czech) to the children's reception area. This is almost starting to be fun!

We follow the tape, find the elevator, go to the first floor, and find that there is no sign for this supposed Reception Area but there are plenty with Detske on it so we start the hunt. After the first right, we fell for a trick sign that told us to go right again. There was one small table with one small toy on it so it looked like it could be correct, however it ended up being a 2 office hall that ended in an apparent smoker's haven so we turned right around.

Deciding to continue down our initial path, we returned to the main hall and kept moving down it. Bathrooms - good to know, more offices - most locked but some with keys hanging off them, and then...there is was...the Children Play Area. This just had to be it! We let the kids runs lose and play and started checking the doors for any signs of reception, a matching doctor's name, or even life. There were 3 teenagers hanging out in the waiting area...a popular thing to do I guess since they never went into any office in the time I was there..., a sign that matched the doctor's name on our paperwork, and tons of things to keep the kids happy. However, the one thing that was still eluding us was this fabled reception area. Strike 3

Alain decided to be a Good Samaritan and wrote out directions for all future ex-pats that would have to go through this trauma alone, and after a quick feeding for Logan, some play time for the kids, and another bathroom run we were ready to get out of there.

Now, this is where Mr. Murphy and his darn Laws come in. As we are leaving, I look over to this hall to the right of us and there is the Reception Area. It has no major markings and the only reason it even appeared was due to the fact that someone had opened the doors leading to it. Knowing that each and every thing we have done since our arrival has had some hidden steps, we go in and try to make contact with the 3 women behind the glass.

Once again the Czech-English barrier comes into play but they take my paperwork and decide to help us out. There is much confusion to work through since they apparently did not understand the whole "Trial Run" thing and just thought that we were complete idiots who had showed up a week early for appointments! Eventually we get them to move on and find out that there are forms that we need filled out in advance...oh and there will be a charge of 1000 cz per child for the exams. Armed with forms, clear plastic protector folders, and our new knowledge we decide to push our luck and ask where we would need to go to make the adults appointments.

We are told to return the way we came, go back to the 5th floor, and now find the White Tape Line and follow that to the Best Health Offices, for Non-EU Citizens. Suffice it to say, once again things seem easier than they really are but we eventually find the office, Alain graciously takes on waiting with the kids, and I head in to get the information.

Adults, as we come to find out, need to come in between 7:30-9:30am after a fasting period and have a slew of blood work done. They will then be given an appointment time with a hospital physician (current time frame 2 weeks out) who will go over the results of the lab work, provide an exam, and send us on our merry way with a Pass (or Fail) to the V.Z.P. offices to finish the sign up process. Since it now well after noon, this will not be occurring today. However, they tell me to come in when I am there with the kids next week so we will see how that goes.

If you are not all collapsed on the ground, praising how things work in the States by now just wait until you read Part II.

The Kids have a Nanny? - Pam's Version

Let me just start out by saying it is the strangest thing in the world for me to say "We have a Nanny". For those of you have a romanticized notion of what this means, we do not have a full-time live in Mary Poppins Wannabe who tends to every whim and care of our children while I lounge around, hang out at the Tennis Club, or organize charitable events!

About our 3rd week of living in Prague, Ben started asking me to find a Nanny/Babysitter so that we could enjoy the city sometimes without dragging around a diaper bag, a stroller, and having to provide a shoulder ride 15 minutes into whatever adventure we were undertaking. We would also be able to eat at establishments that did not have Happy Meals, Chicken & Fries, or Chocolate Shakes on the menu and we would leave without carrying a balloon, coloring book/kids menu, or toy in hand.

I of course did not warm up to the idea much at first. Here we were in a new country, not able to speak the language, with two children who have never had a sitter in their lives...one of which is still breastfeeding. Yeah this would work.

By the time mid- May rolled around, I was quasi on board with the game plan and started checking out various websites for information. The ex-pats site was the best since it was formed for any and all newbies to this country with various information, searches, discussion threads, and postings. Here is the link if you want to check it out as a Guest Visitor www.expats.cz

With this website, I was able to decide that using a Service Agency was not for me...too impersonal and from all the comments I had read, overpriced and unreliable. I did find an amazing amount of thread posts for people who had good luck simply responding to and/or advertising on Ex-Pats so I started looking in earnest.

Just when I thought I would not find anyone to even respond to, an ad popped up for a 24 yr old American student who said she would be available all summer and perhaps continuing throughout her next semester. I immediately wrote to her, asked some questions, gave a detailed account of what she would be in for, and patiently waited for her response. About 5 days later I did hear back - she apologized because she had had visitors who had just left that morning and she had not been using her computer during their stay. She was very interested and wanted to start immediately. Now it was my turn for an apology as I explained that we were actually leaving in a few days for a month-long visit to the US and would not be returning until June 26th. However, I would be willing to set up a meeting prior to our departure, she could meet with Ben when he returned, or we could meet as soon as we returned and set up a start date for July.

A few days go by and I get a response that she signed herself up for some summer camp but it would be while we are gone and that she was looking forward to meeting us upon our return. We go to the States, where I have no internet connection, enjoy our month, and back to Prague we go to find a new message saying that she would no longer be available as much as she had thought. She would have about 2 weeks in July, a week in August, and then she would have to think about whether or not she could do anything once school starts. Okay - thank you for your candor but why did you bother posting in the first place? Moving on...

It is now July and I check out a few more postings but apparently no one is willing to give up their summer sunshine and freedom anymore...unless they could be full time, live in, or through an agency.

Ben decides to ask around at work. Why not? He works with adults - some of which have kids, some who have family members with kids - maybe this is the way to go.

So he sends out a SPAM email to the entire office asking for forgiveness that he hit every account but that we were really in need of some assistance with this search. He really wanted to have someone on board for the beginning of August so that we could attend the quarterly office party together. Now you all know that Ben is a man of few words, so there was not much description involved in his request...it did mention that we wanted 2 afternoons/evenings of coverage and that there were 2 children involved (with their ages) so at least the most base information was covered ;) Since I will be the one in charge of responding, setting up appointments, interviewing, and hiring, Ben asks if he can forward any and all responses my way.

I will not get into all the discussions we had between the two of us, nor will I say anything much about the responses other than you would simply not believe some of the ones we got!

In the mixture of replies, there were about 4 valid ones that peeked my interest and thus deemed a more detailed response from my end. Of those 4, 1 was knocked out of the running by their subsequent response...1 was removed from the picture by not responding at all, and 2 were worthy of interviews. However one of the two candidates was on a 2-week holiday and this would place her past our goal date and well into August. So off went a response from me to snag the only true possibility.

After a few exchanges back and forth a meeting was set in place. As soon as this woman walked through the door and opened her mouth, my decision was made. As soon as she walked into the playroom and interacted with the children, their decision was set in stone...she was the one! I did continue with the questions I had since I am not completely daft and I wanted to see more interaction and gauge the comfort level on both ends. However, after an hour we were all completely ready to make the deal - the only thing left to iron out was pay. We had different ranges in mind but once I received a thorough explanation of why this certain amount was being requested, I was even more convinced that this was the correct choice. The only bad news to come out of the entire meeting was that, since her boyfriend works at Monster she would not be available to start until the following Monday...after the office party had occurred. Oh well, you can't always get everything right...or can you? Turns out that this quarterly party was an outside Beach Party type affair and children would be welcomed so we all won out in the end...we hired a Nanny, the children are completely infatuated with her and I think the feeling is mutual, and we all were able to enjoy the office party!

For those of you who want more specifics, or are asking yourself why does she keep using the word Nanny instead of Babysitter, let me give you these final details:

Hannah is from England and has the loveliest accent you can imagine. Whenever she speaks and if I close my eyes, I can imagine Julie Andrews is in the room and may break into song at any moment. She is in her 20's, teaches Yoga, teaches English as a Second Language, and is a Nanny for another family as well. So, in all honesty, how could I call her anything other than Nanny Hannah?

The kids have a Nanny! - Ben's Version

2 weeks ago we we started going out 2 nights a week without the kids. We found a very nice girl from the UK who watches Alex and Logan 2 afternoons and evenings for us... Monday and Friday. We have used this time well going to a friends house for a karaoke party, going to a co-workers going away party, exploring some of our neighborhood restaurants and attending an Expats beach party. It seems so strange to be out without the kids but we are adjusting.

Play Date

We have made some good friends here in Prague with children for Alex to play with...however, before you get all excited none of them - with the exception of a spouse - is from here! Kelly works for Monster and just moved here from the States with her husband Alain, daughter Paige who is 4 years old , and son Colby who is 2 years old . Kevin is from the UK and works for Monster as a Developer, his wife Marie is from the Czech Republic, and they have two boys Danny, who is 4 years old, and Christian ,who is 2 years old. Anil works with me on the Monster Data Warehouse and he, his wife Susan, and their two sons are here for the month...Dilan who is 8 years old, and Jaiman who is 6 years old. We met up with them last Sunday and went to one of the many parks and then finished at an awesome cukrárna (Pastry/Sweet Shop). It was a great day and Alex slept well that night. :) More Pictures

Logan's Birthday

How many kids can say that they spent their 1st Birthday abroad? Well, Logan now has that distinction under his belt...too bad no one remembers their 1st birthday :(

For His Royal Highness's birthday we went to the Praha Zoo with some friends. Logan enjoyed himself and we got to see a small part of the zoo. The Zoo itself is very large and has a wide variety of animals. They were hit very badly 5 years ago this August by a terrible flood and there were information boards and photos up all over the place. They have made a great recovery since 2002 and we were able to see birds from all over the world, 2 large elephants (slóni), a family of hippos, huge turtles, penguins, and some seals. There are still many areas and animals to see so we shall we heading back soon. This is a pretty economical outing here whereas you break the bank going to a Zoo in the States. Children up to 2 years, 11 months, and 29 days are free of charge, 3-14 year olds are 70 kc (or $3.45) and Adults are 100 kc (or $4.90). There are a few places to get food & of course beer throughout the Zoo, an ice cream spot, and multiple snack & drink vending machines that are comparable to US prices. There are also a few picnic table areas and you are allowed to bring in whatever food/beverages you want to so you could make it a very cheap outing if you want to carry stuff around with you! There is also a great children's playground complete with a small pool that the kids can play in, a Noah's Ark to climb, and great climbing structures, swings, and other basics. One of the best features is that the W/Cs (bathroom facilities) are all free since you paid to get into the Zoo itself...and they even have changing tables :)

We took a river boat back from the zoo to downtown - a 45 minute excursion which includes going through two locks - and went out for dinner. On the way home, I picked up some ice cream as we could not find any sort of cake. Logan was a bit surprised by the coldness of the ice cream but after getting a taste he quickly was in full baby bird mode and ate quite a bit. So, our tired little boy had quite a day to celebrate turning 1 and he even decided to add in a few common milestones to make turning 1 official. He turned Pro at pulling himself up on things and is very close to walking on his own. However, for now we have assembled his walk behind toy and he is taking things slow by holding onto it and taking a few steps before the rolling motion gets ahead of him and he gracefully plops to the floor. His vocabulary is improving. He says Hi Daddy, Momma, Ala (Alex) and "Up" or "Uppy" for being picked up. His favorite phase it "UH OH" and his favorite Czech word is NE which means no. He is also an excellent clapper and often claps with people on TV. More Pictures

Vienna, Austria

We traveled from Salzburg to Vienna to stay there for 2 nights. Our little dash-mounted navigation system worked well and got us there with no issues. Upon arriving, the first thing that struck us was the size of the city. As we would learn the theme for Vienna is BIG. We entered the outskirts and the nav was still saying we had about 15 minutes to the hotel...the city just seemed to go on and on. We arrived at our hotel around 8:30 pm and got checked in. We had eaten on the road so Pam unpacked and we tried to get to bed early. The idea was an early start the next day. Thanks to the room darkening drapes, we headed out around 11am the next morning - So much for an early start! We found a nice restaurant nearby and ate outside. The food was very good...as was the beer ;) We next headed into the heart of 'The Ring' toward St. Stephen's Cathedral. We found the main spire under construction but again the shear size of the building was incredible. There were lots of shops in the area and we did some quick shopping. Vienna has more western good for sale then Prague does. One on my co-workers had given us some Euros to pick him up some Starbucks coffee and that was our only dedicated quest. We found one with ease and got him a couple pounds of drip ground. Pam was extremely jealous as she has been missing fresh brewed coffee and had not found a machine she could easily operate. We had gone to dinner at a friend's house and they had just purchased a Nestle Nespresso, one cup machine. We had been meaning to head to Old Town to buy one for ourselves but had not made it down there before the trip. We then noticed an electronics shop...much like a super small Best Buy or Circuit City...and they had the Nespresso advertised. We went in an were very happy to see that in addition to this machine, they had the European version of our Braun Tassimo coffee maker we had left at home (since it only worked on 120v). I think I spied actual tears of joy as Pam ran to find a clerk. We bought one of those and, due to the small selection, a very moderate supply of the coffee disks for it. We will need to continue to get the coffee for this machine from outside the country so when heading over this way please reserve us a little space in your suitcases for a coffee care package. The day was in the mid 80's we had done some good walking, and at this point Alex said she needed a nap and wanted to go back to the hotel. We arrived back to the hotel at about 3:30 and Alex and Logan took naps. When they got up, we all headed down to the indoor pool area. We splashed around there for a while and after a dramatic exit from the Princess, we returned to our room, changed, and headed out for dinner. We asked at the concierge where a good family place was and we were off. We found the establishment and headed inside. Outside they advertised the fact they had Air Conditioning however all the windows were open and it was a still a bit hot and sticky. Apparently they have it but do not run it often. The interior was decorated in...well, the best and most honest description I can provide is, hunting lodge. There were stuffed and mounted animals in every corner of the place along with some very old paintings. The seating was comfortable and the food very, very good. The beer was a local brew and had a very nice honey flavor to it. We had been the only people in this room when we ordered but soon they seated another patron, an older man from America. The poor guy was subjected to Alex's outbursts, Logan's constant crying, and our singing along with a live broadcast of Maroon 5. However, we all managed to enjoy the evening and the atmosphere and he left with a small smile - whether it was from the entertainment portion of the evening or the knowledge that he was returning to his quiet world will always be a mystery! After dinner we walked back to the hotel and swore we would get an early start the next day. We got up and had the car loaded and breakfast done before 11am. We got on the tram that ran in front of our building and ran around the afore mentioned 'Ring' - a large loop of downtown passing many historic sites. We got off near the statue of Mozart in the Burggarten. Alex and I went into a Botanical Garden that was having a butterfly exhibit...seemed a bit light on butterflies but was fun. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and spitting rain on us as we continued our sightseeing. We walked around and then through a couple other huge government palace and museum buildings. Again the shear size of these buildings was overwhelming. We went though a final garden and out the other side to re-board a tram and head back to our car to head home. I had initially felt like we had seen a good amount of the city but on the tram ride back to the hotel, we saw at least another 5-6 areas with incredible buildings to explore. It would seem you would really need much more time to even scratch the surface of what Vienna has to offer.
On the drive home we stopped at a Tesco and took advantage of the fact we had a car. We stocked up on bottled water and paper products as these are the heaviest and bulkiest items to carry home when walking. This seemed like a brilliant idea until presented with all the stairs to carry the water up once we got home. We managed to get all of the water and suitcases upstairs and no one developed chest pains or numbness in their arms. Alex then made a castle out of all the bottled water and played in it. Good times... More Pictures