From La Pradera to San Diego de los Baños, the Start a Thermal Route

IN 2018, AS SUPPORT FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE LIFE QUALITY PROGRAM DEVELOPED IN LA PRADERA, THE SERVICES PROVIDED AT THE SAN DIEGO DE LOS BAÑOS THERMAL CENTER ARE ADDED TO START CUBA’S THERMAL ROUTE

Beginning in 2018, the San Diego de los Baños thermal resort has been added as an exclusive service of the La Pradera International Health Center, designed to provide medical services to both health tourists and local patients. These new services are part of a nationwide campaign to foster thermal culture and promoting traditional herbal medicine. Patients there can enjoy two different stays: one with thermal treatments and its benefits, and another one in the variant of a thermal route, where the history of medicinal mineral waters in Cuba is taught, always linked to several tourist routes that include the main medical destinations. By doing so, the history of these destinations, the characteristics of their waters, their use and benefits for health are learned. To talk about these new services, Dr. Rafael Ledesma Rosa sat down for an exclusive interview with Excelencias.

What's the target public for these new kinds of treatments?

Services at the resort fulfill goals for international patients who come through the programs of health tourism and also for domestic patients referred from specialized consultations, as the Julio Diaz International Rehabilitation Center, and one that we at the Center for Rehabilitation in the province of Pinar del Río. Patients referred by their health areas are evaluated by a committee and then are ree- valuated at the center. In the case of international tourists, a proper assessment is also performed, depending on the type of program that is chosen, whether it's purely medical or tourism-oriented.

What are the most frequent pathologies treated at the San Diego de los Baños Thermal Center?

Pathologies that have to do with bones, joints and muscles, say, tendinitis, bursitis, spinal pain, pains in various parts of the body, known as arthritic pathologies, respiratory problems, dermatological problems and neurological problems, such as psoriasis. Its waters are also used in treatments for digestive and kidney problems. This is a well-known therapeutic method, target of research studies and fully backed up that comes naturally, with many benefits to improve the suffering of people suffering from chronic diseases that are difficult to treat with regular medications. It has an important impact on the patient's wellbeing and for the economy of the country, whose government, in conjunction with the Ministry Public Health, promoted the development of thermal culture in Cuba.

What are the platforms used in marketing these services?

International patients interested in enjoying these services can take a closer look at them through Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos de Cuba or by going directly to the center, which is available through several tour operators.

May the extension of this project include other centers in the future?

In Cuba we have approximately thirteen centers, and four of them are properly outfitted for this kind of treatment. They must have certain structural and technical characteristics, as well as updated studies of its waters and its environment in general. Cuba boasts over 1,400 springs or outbursts of medicinal mineral waters, in which, to the extent of the possibilities and conditions of the country, thermal centers with a playful orientation will be developed, with refined structures, while others with an ecological view could be very attractive for international tourism. There are projects in the offing in this sense. Virtually in all Cuban provinces, we have the possibility of developing a thermal culture through thermal centers, and this is a luring possibility that is currently being assessed.