Welcome

Welcome Mandie and Ms. Rona.  If there is anything specific you would like to see please let me know.

Medical and Dental Care

Medical and Dental care are always a high concern for those of us with children.  Rest assured, adequate services are available in The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium if you are assigned to this area.  But, like anything else, you have to become familiar with the options and procedures before you need to use those services.

US Medical and Dental care is located at NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen (Germany).  Medical care is provided by the 470th Medical Flight Clinic.  IMPORTANT - This is a medical clinic only; not a full fledged medical facility.  They do not conduct Sick Call, they do not take Walk Ins, and they cannot handle Emergencies (there is no ER). Below is a copy of the information provided by the USAG Schinnen website:

US Medical and Dental Facilities, GK

Twenty minutes from USAG Schinnen at Geilenkirchen NATO AB, Germany, is the 470th Medical Flight Clinic, which offers health care to the military population within the Tri-border community. The “GK Clinic” Medical Staff’s first and foremost objective is keeping its active duty personnel “fit to fight” by ensuring members meet unit and branch medical readiness standards and by addressing healthcare needs to keep active duty personnel mission-ready. The GK Clinic also strives to provide quality, timely, and accessible health care to all its active duty members and their families, and retiree and retiree beneficiaries.

Clinic hours are Monday thur Friday 0730-1600. Please note: On the first Thursday of every month all sections will close for training between 1300-1700. (limited services during lunch 1200-1300). *Note: There is no Sick Call, and the clinic does not do walk-in appointments. You must schedule an appointment to be seen. You can register to book medical appointments online by visiting http://www.tricareonline.com/, or you can call the appointment line at +49(0)2451-99-3200.

  

TRICARE

TRICARE is the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. The Geilenkirchen TRICARE Service Center offers a variety of resources, including TRICARE enrollments/disenrollments, civilian and military medical referral coordination, medical bill processing, Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) assistance, overseas clearances, and TRICARE benefits counseling. For more information, please call the TRICARE Service Center at +49(0)2451-99-3400, or visit the website at http://www.europe.tricare.osd.mil/. 

  

Dental Clinic

   

Medical Emergencies 

  

Find out which medical emergency facility is closest to your home or location. Make sure the family knows this is the facility of choice. Determine the shortest route from the home to that facility. If new to the area, make a trial run to the facility. 

  

Keep emergency phone numbers posted near the phone where children and adults can easily find them. Below is a list of local civilian hospitals. The 470th Medical Flight does not imply that the quality of care of any civilian hospital is better than the other. 

  

• ■St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus, Martin-Heyden Strasse 32, Geilenkirchen, GE, +49(0)2451-6220
• Note: Pediatric patients will be stabilized and transferred to other facilities for inpatient or pediatric specialty care. OB/Gyn services are not available at this facility.
• ■Städtishes Krankenhaus, Auf dem Brand 1, Heinsberg, GE, +49(0)2452-1880
• Note: Pediatric patients will be stabilized and transferred to other facilities for inpatient or pediatric specialty care
• ■Atrium Medisch Centrum, Henri Dunantstraat, Heerlen, NL, +31(0)45-576-6666
• ■Orbis Medisch Centrum, Dr. H. van der Hoffplein 1, Sittard-Geleen, NL, +31(0)46-459-7777

*Note: This is a new facility, and the address might not show on older GPSs. Please follow direction to the Foroxity Movie Theater—the hospital is across the highway.

  

Family members must inform the TRICARE Service Center prior to obtaining any care from a civilian provider than is not urgent or an emergency. If visiting an emergency room after duty hours, notify TRICARE the next duty day to ensure medical care continuity and avoid out-of-pocket expenses. 

Quick Health Services List

Medical Appointments +49(0)2451-99-3200 Immunizations +49(0)2451-99-3345 Dental Clinic +49(0)2451-99-3535 Pharmacy Pharmacy Refills +49(0)2451-99-3334 +49(0)6561-69-3301 TRICARE +49(0)2451-99-3400 Referrals (military facilities) +49(0)2451-99-3320 Referrals (civilian facilities) +49(0)2451-99-3400/01/02 Telephone Consult +49(0)2451-99-3345 Nurse Advice Line Open 24/7, including holidays 00800-4759-2330 After-Hours On-Call Providers Medical:+49(0)171-260-9365 Dental:+49(0)171-260-9570

END of Extract

The 470th Medical Flight is not equipped to handle emergencies. For all medical emergencies, immediately go to the nearest civilian emergency room, or call 112 for an ambulance.  The GK Dental Clinic’s primary mission is to active duty members, meeting their dental health needs and fulfilling unit dental health readiness requirements. Complete dental care is available for active duty members. Services for active duty family members are limited to annual exams and cleanings. (To schedule, call the first duty day of the sponsor’s birth month.) All other dental services for family members are on a space-available basis. Active duty sponsors should consider enrolling their family members in the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) to accommodate for all other dental issues, especially emergency dental care. Please visit http://www.tricaredentalprogram.com/ for more information, or call the Dental Clinic at +49(0)2451-99-3535.

It says that the GK clinic is 20 minutes from Schinnen but I think you would be hard pressed on most days to get there in less than 30 minutes if the back gate is open and 45 minutes if you have to go around to the main entrance.  make sure you have somebody show you how to drive both routes.  GK will close the back gate with no notice and if you drove there and it is closed, well just add another 15-20 minutes to your drive time.

I have used the clinic on two different tours to The Netherlands and I have always been satisfied with their professionalism.  Years ago, if you needed services beyond what they can offer you would be referred to the Medical Clinic at Bitburg, Germany.  But that has closed.  Now, you will be referred to a Dutch or German health care provider in the immediate area.  This is not always a timely process; both Germans and Dutch schedule things far in advance so they are usually booked solid in the near term.  I was referred to the German hospital in Geilenkirchen (St. Elizabeth) and had no problems. The doctors will all speak pretty good English but the rest of the staff in St. Elizabeth's did not.  Luckily I also speak passable German so I managed but if you don't speak Dutch or German, and you have to go to one of their hospitals, you might want to take someone with you that can speak the language.  Otherwise, just be patient with them and they will do the best that they can to find someone to talk to you.

The Tricare office at GK is top notch.  They are knowledgeable and very helpful.  But they have no information about CONUS Tricare services.  Apparently it is two completely separate programs and contracts. You will have to call the states if you have a CONUS Tricare question.  Be aware, that if you are referred off post for medicine or care that you will most likely have to pay upfront and then seek reimbursement through a Tricare claim.  I had one Tricare claim for twenty-some Euros and submitted the paperwork but I have never been paid.  I live too far away to keep driving back to GK to try and get my money, I would burn up more in gas then what I am owed so i have let it drop.  So keep copies of receipts and write down everything so you have a log of your actions and maybe you'll have more success than I have had.

The Dental clinic is as good as any military dental clinic I have ever been to in the past 34 years.  I am very satisfied with them.  I had a crown installed on a molar this year and it was done very well.  The dental clinic does not do Orthodontics though.  For braces and such you'll have to go on the economy but they will do the pre-screening for braces.

For more information just Google "470th Medical Flight" and you'll get plenty of references.

Movies - Where to go

There are four possible places to go see an English language movie in the Schinnen/Brunssum area that I am aware of. Two are in Belgium, one on the economy in The Netherlands, and one at the theater at AFNORTH in Brunssum.  I'll start with the ones in Belgium because that is where I go.

Euroscoop Maasmechelen.  This bioscoop is located at the north side of Maasmechelen, Belgium.  From Schinnen it is a ten minute drive, without traffic.  It is right next to the outlet shopping center called Maasmechelen Village.  The theater has eleven screens; two of them are set up for 3D movies.  Adult (volwassen) ticket price is 7.00 Euros, children (kinder) under 12 years old get in for 5.00 Euros.  3D movies cost two Euros more and you must put up a ten Euro security deposit for each pair of 3D glasses so make sure you bring the extra cash. You get your money back when you hand in the glasses after the movie. Sometimes they hand out the 3D glasses at the snack counter and sometimes they set up a special stand (mostly on busy days for new movies). On Tuesday (dinsdag) it is filmdag (movie day) and everyone gets in for 5.00 Euros.  This is a very nice, modern theater with stadium seating.  It is always clean and there are a lot of bathroom facilities.  The snack stand is fully stocked with a wide variety of snacks and drinks.  The prices aren't too bad but popcorn (it is sweetened kettle corn) and a drink will cost about the same price as admission.  Eat at home and save a bundle.  This theater takes a ten minute intermission about halfway through the movie and it is a sudden stop.  The first movie of the day starts at 1400 hours. Parking is free but it shares parking with several restaurants and the outlet center so sometimes you have to park out on the street.  Get there early to ensure you can park close by.

URL: http://www.euroscoop.be/nl/maasmechelen/home/

Euroscoop Lanaken.  When I was here twelve years ago this is the theater I went to.  It is maybe five minutes farther away from Schinnen and is just outside the Lanaken Centrum.  This theater has eight screens and is a little older and of course smaller than its sister theater.  I haven't been there in quite some time but I remember it as being a nice theater. Prices are exactly the same as the Euroscoop in Maasmechelen, including Tuesday's discount, and the hours are also the same.  Parking is also free here.  The snack counter is smaller but more or less the same.  I presume that they also have an intermission.

URL: http://www.euroscoop.be/nl/lanaken/home/

Foroxity Geleen-Sittard.  The Foroxity is between Geleen and Sittard and is easy to get to from Brunssum.  It is a new and modern theater.  Most US personnel that I know go to this theater and I think they are more accustomed to English speakers (I have never had a language problem at the Belgian theaters but I do speak decent Dutch). There are eight screens and these can seat 250 people each. Tickets have seat numbers assigned so if the movie is first run and full, you won't have a choice of seats.  You can buy your ticket online and select your seat. Prices at Foroxity are: 4.50 Euros for movies between 1000-1200 hours, 6.00 Euros for movies between 1200-1800 hours, and 7.50 Euros for movies after 1800. 3D movies (no matter when it plays) are 8.50 Euros and you must purchase the 3D glasses for 2.00 Euro and then you can keep them.  I believe parking is free here. URL: http://www.forox.nl/index.php?event_id=10869714

NOTES: 

1. Adult movies will be in the original language with Dutch and French subtitles at the Euroscoop and in Dutch at the Foroxity; you get used to that after awhile.

2. Kids movies are very often dubbed to Dutch.  You need to pay attention to whether the movie is in the original language or Dutch.  If it is in the original language you will see the letters, "OV" after the title.  If it is dubbed to Dutch you will see the letters, "Ned, NV, or NL" after the title.

Alliance Theater, AFNORTH (Joint Force Command, Brunssum is its real name but most people still call it AFNORTH) is run by Aafes but you must pay in Euros.  Last time I was there a movie cost 4.00 Euros and the snack counter prices are also much lower than out on the economy.  This is not quite as comfortable a theater and they only show movies on the weekend (right now only on Saturdays).  The movies are all English language movies with no sub-titles but they usually are not as current and obviously there is no choice or selection, there is only one screen.  They cannot show 3D movies here. But, it is the place to go if you are too timid to go to a Dutch or Belgian theater.

URL: http://www.shopmyexchange.com/ReelTimeTheatres/Movies-Brunssum.htm

There is (or was?) a theater on GK (NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen is always referred to as GK) but I have never been there and know nothing about it.

Economic Effects

The Netherlands, while a very affluent country with a robust economy, is just as adversely effected by the world's current economic downturn as anyone else.  The Dutch stereotype is similar to the Scottish stereotype; very tight with the money.  It is true, the Dutch hate to spend money.  The average Dutchman saves almost 14% of their disposable income every month (according to a radio show I heard a couple days ago this is about 240 Euros a month into savings).  The average American saves less than 5%.  Dutch people do not use credit cards, they abhor debt.  The average American owes $10,000 to $14,680 in credit card debt alone (different stats by different sources but the effect is the same).

The historic economic paranoia means that the Dutch will start to cut back spending at a point where most other countries would think they were on top of the world.  So right now a lot of simple stuff just isn't getting done.  Road and bridge work continues as well as any other project that directly impacts commerce and trade.  But other things are put off.  In my village, the Gemeente (municipality) is only cutting grass in public areas twice a year.  This past winter theu made no attempt at all to clear roads or put down salt except on major roads.  My village was nearly impossible to drive through several times this year.

The Dutch government announced severe military personnel and funding cutbacks earlier this year.  Several thousand positions will be eliminated; and that is from an already really small military force.  The entire Dutch army, for example, was only three brigades.  The Dutch eliminated their entire armor force as part of this cutback; they no longer have tanks.  See the news article below:

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Dutch Military In Action...Against Cuts

For (most) foreign soldiers it's a strange concept, but in the Netherlands there are several military Labor Unions. When the plans of the current Dutch government became known, they started organising small scale action meetings to get attention for the consequences of those plans. The first was on December 10 on Volkel AFB.

After that came a surprise. At a demonstration in the Dutch seat of government, the Hague, for all employers in the public sector a lot of soldiers were present in uniform. That was something I had never seen before. When the actual cuts were presented, different military unions (7) decided to join forces. They have organised 30 local action meetings and set up a website and twitter account.

And while soldiers aren't allowed to strike, they have decided they will stop with all the volunteer work they do. And they do a LOT. Also, they will do rule-book slowdowns. This could have consequences for Rotterdam and Eindhoven airport, that are also military airports and civilian flights could be delayed because of it.

So if it takes you a little longer to get services done or the Dutch military member you work with is not in a great mood; you now know why.

On Vacation

I am on vacation until mid-July.  I'll write more then.

Pinksteren

This weekend the Dutch celebrate Pinksteren or Pentecost, on both Sunday and Monday. Sunday is 1e Pinksterdag or Eerste Pinksterdag, and Monday is 2e Pinksterdag or Tweede Pinksterdag [English: Whit Monday]. In the more Catholic regions it is still a religious holiday and the day that churches conduct first communion for children and other important church matters.  For everyone else it is simply a four-day weekend; nearly everyone in the Netherlands has Monday off.  Just a few years ago all businesses would be closed but today, in search of the almighty Euro, many stores will be open (Koop Zondag).

Pinkster, or Pentecost, ("the Fiftieth day") is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection. The feast is also called Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit especially in the United Kingdom, where the following Monday was traditionally a holiday. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday (Hemelvaartsdag in The Netherlands).

Many Dutch and Belgian churches will conduct special services on Pinksteren and many small towns and villages will have processions, usually to one of the hundreds of roadside chapels or crosses.

Pinkpop Festival, or Pinkpop for short, is an annual rock festival held in Landgraaf, The Netherlands. It is held annually during the Pinksteren weekend.

Banking in NL

If you have never done an OCONUS tour before you might be worrying about banking and bill-paying while you are out of the US.  Like anything else on an overseas tour some things are easy and some things are not so easy.  You should maintain your state-side bank that your direct deposit currently goes to and make sure you establish on-line bill paying for all your recurring bills before your leave the states.

You can do some very limited "banking" type activities at the Cashier's Cage at the Schinnen PX.  This includes cashing checks, exchanging dollars for Euros (and back), and purchasing money orders, postage stamps, and gas coupons.

There are two US banking facilities on USAG Schinnen; both have somewhat limited hours due to Schinnen's schedule but outside ATMs are available.  This is not an endorsement of either.

The Community Bank is operated by Bank of America and it is a full-service American bank.  They offer checking and savings accounts, CDs, loans, currency exchange, automatic bill pay services, and one-time Euro Bill Payments.  The One-Time Euro Bill Pay service can be used to pay specific Dutch or German bills such as traffic tickets (yes, you will probably get one if you drive here), telephone and cable bills. Community Bank facilities can be found pretty much anywhere US forces are based overseas.  You can go to their website at www.DoDCommunityBank.com.

The second banking facility is Andrews Federal Credit Union.  Andrews Federal CU is somewhat hidden from view but easy enough to find.  It is located in the lobby of the USAG Schinnen Headquarters building. Andrews Federal CU offers Youth accounts, Euro Bill Pay, Free Checking, savings accounts, loans, Online Bill Pay, and free access to Investment advisors and Debt/Credit management programs.  They have branches and ATMs in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Andrews Federal Credit Union is based out of Suitland, Maryland.  Andrews Federal CU members never have to close their account due to PCSing or any other move.  Their services extend internationally, not just within Europe.  Hours of operations are based on serving the military including later branch hours every Thursday.  All branches are open the first and third Saturdays of the month.  Additionally, all uniformed military personnel will be served first between 11:30 to 13:00 to ensure a quick return from their lunch break. The Andrews Federal CU website is at http://www.andrewsfcu.org/ or you can email them at branch62@andrewsfcu.org.

If you live in The Netherlands you will need to open a bank account in a Dutch bank.  This is the easiest way to pay your Dutch bills.  You can use the AFCU or Community Bank Euro Bill Pay service but most Dutch companies charge an additional fee (two euro fifty at Ziggo for example) if you don't use their automatic bill pay service.  That adds up to a considerable amount of money over time.  I use ABN-AMRO simply because I used them the last time I was assigned here and I was familiar with the bank but all Dutch banks offer similar services.  The best thing to do is to find a bank that is convenient to where you live or work.  You can only deposit Euros (using the self-service banking machine) so you will need to exchange dollars to euros at Schinnen each time you want to make a deposit.  For my bills I try to keep a balance of about 400 Euros in my account.  That gives me a two month buffer in case I can't get to the bank or I get a big traffic fine.

Most Dutch banks will have a self-service banking machine inside the lobby.  They highly encourage use of the machines; in fact most of them charge a fee if you want to do your transaction through a live bank teller.  The machines are easy to use.  Insert your card and input your PIN.  Usually from here you are given a language option; choose English and continue from there.  You can do everything except deposit cash at a bank ATM and these will be outside the banks.  In a pinch, you can get cash from a Dutch ATM using your Credit Card or stateside debit card but you will pay additional fees.



Dutch ATM

The Dutch do not routinely use credit cards (Dutch people abhor debt; they are a nation of savers not spenders.) and many Dutch merchants do not accept credit cards.  The Dutch stereotype of being tight with money is based in fact; Dutch merchants are not willing to pay the fees associated with credit cards.  Be prepared to pay in cash or with your Dutch bank card. In the most popular tourist areas you will be able to use your US credit card but you will pay extra fees and your bank will charge you a "foreign exchange" fee as well.

The two most common methods for paying routine and recurring bills is by use of the Accept Giro Kaart or by Direct Bill Pay. Most companies prefer that you set up an automatic bill pay with them.  It saves them time and money (you too because you don't need to drive to the bank to deposit the acceptgirokaart).  If you do pay by the acceptgiro (such as for a traffic fine), all you have to do is fill in a few data fields and drop it in the slot at your bank.

The euro amount is usually already entered in this section of the form.  If not, fill it in.

Then fill in your bank account number in this space on the form. (The black bar will not be on the form, this is just a safety feature of the site I copied this form from.

Last, just sign your name here.

Paying cash or using your bank card are the two most common means of making smaller purchases.  When you open your Dutch bank account you will want to get a bank card with Chip. The bank cards are multi-purpose cards.  They are used to access your account at the bank self-service teller machines, to use the ATM, and to make small purchases as Debit Cards. I'm sure you already know how to use an ATM card and a debit card but have you ever used a "Chip" or "Pin" card?  As you can see on this

 sample card there is a small computer chip embedded in the card (the gold square above the word "Card").  This allows you to load cash value directly onto the card for making quick, small purchases.  This is especially handy when paying for parking.  You load cash value at any "Chipknip" machine, such as the one shown here.  It can be from any bank and there is no charge.  These upload points (Oplaadpunt) are everywhere in the shopping districts, tourist areas, and train stations.  The cash value is taken out of your bank account and placed in the chip.  If you lose or damage your card you lose that money.  There is no record of what is on your card and the banks will not refund the money.  So, you only want to load the chip with 10-15 euros at any time.  You will see signs at the entrance or at the cash register (NL- Kassa) if they accept this type of payment.  It will say something like, "Je kan hier pinnen".  If you aren't sure, just ask, "Kan ik hier pinnen?" (pronounced - Cahn eek here pin-neh?).  Then ask for help if you haven't done it before.  You don't enter a PIN or anything so it is pretty simple.

NOTE: The Dutch reverse the use of commas and points when it comes to numbers.  For example, €1.000 means a thousand Euros and €10,50 means ten euros and fifty cents.  This could be pretty important if you make a mistake!

If you have any specific questions please use the Comments Box and I will get you an answer.