This is the article nobody wants to need, which is exactly why it's worth reading before you need it. Punta Cana has genuinely good private medical infrastructure — three substantial hospitals with 24-hour emergency departments, international patient services, English-speaking staff and agreements with foreign insurers. Knowing which one to go to, and having the numbers saved before something happens, turns a bad situation into a manageable one.
We're a dive centre, not medical professionals, and nothing here is medical advice. Phone numbers and services change, so verify anything critical directly with the facility or with your embassy. What follows is orientation, plus the dive-specific section that we think every visiting diver should read.
The Three Main Hospitals
Hospiten Bávaro — Carretera Verón–Punta Cana 106. Main line 809-686-1414, with emergency extensions 2651, 2652 and 2653, and an international department on extension 2820. Part of the international Hospiten Group, which operates across Spain, Mexico, Jamaica and the DR. Roughly 70 in-patient beds, four operating theatres, an ICU, and over 50 specialties. Hospiten also runs outpatient clinics inside many all-inclusive hotels in the area, which is often the fastest first point of contact if you're staying at a large resort — ask your front desk.
Centro Médico Punta Cana — Avenida España, Bávaro. Main line 809-552-1506, and a 24-hour call centre on 809-473-7283, which spells 809-4RESCUE. Part of the Grupo Rescue network and the largest facility in the area at around 26,000 square metres, with 45 wards, ICU, emergency room and operating theatres. It holds Accreditation Canada certification and runs a dedicated international department with 24-hour concierge support for foreign patients in multiple languages, covering over 35 specialties.
Hospital IMG Punta Cana — Boulevard Turístico del Este at Cocotal. Main line 809-285-6116, WhatsApp 849-261-6116, international department on extension 116. A 40-bed hospital that earned ACHC accreditation in 2022, and it's frequently recommended specifically for English-speaking patients — staff cover several languages and it holds agreements with a large number of international insurers. IMG also operates an outpatient clinic in Puntacana Village near the airport.
All three run 24-hour emergency services. There are also smaller clinics and practices across Bávaro, including Punta Cana Doctors, and hotel-based outpatient clinics that handle minor issues without a hospital trip.
How Payment Actually Works
This is the part that catches people out. These are private hospitals, and the standard expectation is payment or a confirmed guarantee at the point of treatment. Many facilities accept international insurance directly, but that depends on your specific insurer and policy — the phrase used consistently by the US Embassy is that US insurance may be accepted and you should always confirm with the hospital.
In practice: bring a credit card with meaningful available limit, since you may need to pay upfront and claim back. Contact your insurer's emergency assistance line early rather than after treatment, because many policies require notification and pre-authorisation. Keep every receipt and every piece of documentation. And know your policy number before you travel — the international departments at these hospitals exist precisely to handle this, and they're good at it, but they need your details.
Travel insurance with medical coverage is not optional for a trip here. Medical evacuation, if it's ever needed, costs far more than any policy.
The Dive Emergency Section
If you take one thing from this article, take this. For a suspected diving injury — decompression sickness, arterial gas embolism, serious barotrauma — the correct first call is Divers Alert Network, not a general hospital and not a chamber directly. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline staffed by people trained in dive medicine, and their job is exactly this: assess the situation, identify which recompression facility is currently operational and appropriate, and coordinate transport.
The reason this matters is that hyperbaric chamber availability in the Caribbean is not static. Chambers go offline for maintenance, staffing changes, and facilities open and close. Published lists — including ones you'll find online — go out of date, and acting on a stale address in an emergency wastes the time that matters most. DAN maintains current status and makes the call. Do not self-transport to a chamber you found on a website.
What to do before you travel: get dive accident insurance, which is separate from ordinary travel insurance and which most general travel policies exclude. DAN membership packages include this and access to their emergency line. Save the DAN emergency number in your phone alongside your membership number, and write it on paper too — phones get wet and batteries die.
What to do in the moment: get the diver out of the water, administer emergency oxygen if available, keep them lying flat and hydrated, and call DAN. Do not wait to see if symptoms resolve — decompression illness symptoms can be vague and can worsen over hours, and delayed treatment produces worse outcomes. If in doubt, make the call. Tell your dive operator immediately as well; any competent operation carries oxygen and has an emergency plan, and we do.
One more thing worth saying plainly: this is why the no-fly interval after diving exists. Flying too soon after diving is a genuine risk factor for decompression illness, and it is entirely avoidable by planning your last dive day to be at least 18 to 24 hours before your flight.
The Ordinary Stuff That Actually Happens
Most medical issues on a Punta Cana trip are not dramatic. Ear infections from repeated diving, sunburn, stomach upsets, cuts that need cleaning, and reactions to insect bites make up the bulk of it. For a lot of these a pharmacy or a hotel clinic is the right level of response, not a hospital emergency department.
Go to a hospital rather than a pharmacy if there's high or persistent fever, difficulty breathing, chest pain, a wound that may need stitches or shows signs of infection, severe or worsening pain, a head injury, or any dive-related symptom at all. Coral cuts in particular are worth taking seriously — they contaminate easily and can become infected faster than an equivalent cut at home.
For general emergencies in the Dominican Republic, 911 is the national emergency number and it works. For anything involving a foreign national, your embassy or consulate can also assist with locating care and contacting family, though they cannot pay medical bills.
Practical Preparation
Before you fly: save the hospital numbers and your insurer's emergency line in your phone, take a photo of your insurance card and passport, and note your policy number somewhere accessible offline. Bring prescription medication in original packaging with generic names written down. Our guide to vaccinations and travel health for the DR covers the preventive side, including the dengue and malaria picture.
If you have a medical condition that could matter underwater — asthma, diabetes, a heart condition, epilepsy, recent surgery — tell your dive operator when you book, not on the boat. It isn't gatekeeping; it's so we can plan appropriately and so nobody is surprised at depth. The same applies to any medication you're taking.
The Bottom Line
Punta Cana has three substantial private hospitals with 24-hour emergency care and international patient departments: Hospiten Bávaro (809-686-1414), Centro Médico Punta Cana (809-552-1506, call centre 809-473-7283) and Hospital IMG (809-285-6116). All are private, so bring insurance details and a credit card, and contact your insurer early. For dive emergencies, call Divers Alert Network first — they identify the currently operational chamber and coordinate transport, which a website list cannot do. Get dive accident insurance separately from travel insurance. Save the numbers before you need them, and tell your dive operator about any medical condition when you book rather than on the day. If you're diving with us and want to talk through anything health-related beforehand, message us through our contact form.
