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Of French Canadian origin, Dr. Odile Desage is the CEO of the Anamaya Medical and Dental Center in Puerto Vallarta. Anamaya, which means “free from all diseases”, has the mission of providing a comprehensive and warm service to its patients. Dr. Odile arrived in Puerto Vallarta in ’98 and when she fell in love with the city she decided to settle here.
Dr. Odile has specialized throughout her career in medical response in hostile terrain, war zones or humanitarian catastrophe, this until three years ago that she decided to change gears and started by opening the doors of Anamaya. She offers a comprehensive medical service, upon arrival the patient does not feel that they have arrived at a clinic, but rather at a warm home where they are listened to and pampered.
“The idea is that going to the doctor represents something welcoming, a pampering of sorts, unlike the United States or Canada where they tend to feel cold and dark. When a patient enters a hospital she often fears that it will happen or worse, how much it will cost, and we do not want them to feel that here.” Odile shared with us.
In the years of her career, she has worked for public and private institutions and this experience has helped her develop her clinic. The clinic’s services go beyond those of any other, the Doctor accompanies her clients to the hospital if necessary. The clinic also has sampling in the clinic as well as a gynecologist with a subspecialty in maternal fetal. The center also has a doctor with a sub specialty in spine care, Dr. Navarro, as well as general and specialized dental services with Dr. De La Cruz Mondragon. “The concept of our clinic is that the patient arrives and finds everything in one place, that he feels comfortable and relaxed and, if necessary, ‘take up bigger arms’, he is accompanied at all stages.”
Desage decided to study in Mexico in order to study a clinical medicine where she is close to the patient and not because of an x-ray or laboratory, to be able to touch the patient and interact with hers. She later went to study there with the US military where on the fly she acquired the necessary experience to set up a hospital in a war zone or where there has been an earthquake or a similar catastrophe. This implies getting all the immediate response teams, as well as carrying all the medical and organizational logistics. This is also where she works with multicultural teams and as each country has its own protocols, that became extremely enriching for her professional development.
The doctor tells us that most of her patients seek a response to the urgency they are experiencing at the moment, such as a simple fall that leads to a broken ankle. “From making a correct diagnosis to accompanying them to having quality care, they know that when they leave they will have a follow-up with me, and most of them look for that, safety and quality of services and of course, an improvement in their health.” Desage comments. Like she tells us that many come for cosmetic or bariatric surgery which in their countries may be considered a luxury when it is not. Whatever the reason for visiting her, the doctor says that the added value of Puerto Vallarta is the tranquility of her patients by being here, she comments that she gives them a feeling of well-being.
Regarding the current pandemic, he tells us that they have begun to implement video calls for their patients who feel they are more at risk, they have also spaced the time between patients to limit the interaction between them and have closed their massage services for now so as not to expose anyone unnecessarily. They offer all the testing services for Covid-19 such as PCR, antigens and antibodies.
The clinic staff speaks 3 languages, French, English and Spanish, and Dr. Odile also speaks Creole since she spent 3 years in Haiti after the earthquake. Without a doubt the Anamaya Clinic and Dr. Odile offer a special differentiator and that is human quality.
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