Feeling feverish in the Florida Keys? Or are you hungover? There’s help in paradise
It’s the last thing you want to think about when you’re on vacation in the Florida Keys: getting sick or injured.
But even paradise has its pitfalls.
Medical care is limited along the 120-mile long chain. And it’s a long ride back to the mainland if you’re coming down with something or hurt yourself while out on the water, working out or knocking back too many frozen rum drinks.
Monroe County is home to three hospitals: one each in the Lower, Middle and Upper Keys if you need emergency medical care or want to immediately check out a physical problem. There are also urgent care centers from Key Largo to Key West, but services vary.
Key West is also well-stocked with day spas and wellness centers offering relief for aches and pains with massage therapy and acupuncture.
Options increase as you get closer to Key West, the most populated city in the Keys.
For COVID-19 testing, the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County’s latest list of locations spans the Keys. COVID-19 vaccines remain readily available at grocery and drugstore chains pharmacies like Publix and Walgreens.
Here’s a look at places to get help or find relief in the Keys:
Hospitals
Monroe County has three hospitals, with one marking each major section of the island chain from Key Largo to Key West.
For major traumas, patients are airlifted by helicopter to medical centers in the Miami area. Addresses and phone numbers for the hospitals are listed below, but if you have a medical emergency, call 911.
Lower Keys Medical Center
5900 College Rd.
Key West
305-294-5531
Key West’s Lower Keys Medical Center has 167 beds spread over two locations. The main campus with an emergency room is on College Road on Stock Island.
The hospital has 23 beds at its DePoo Medical Building, 1200 Kennedy Dr., where mental health and rehabilitation services are offered. The number at DePoo is 305-294-5535.
Fishermen’s Community Hospital
3301 Overseas Highway
Marathon
305-434-1000
This hospital is in the Middle Keys city of Marathon and run by the nonprofit Baptist Health South Florida. The entirely new 33,330-square foot, 22-bed hospital opened earlier this year after the original 1962-era hospital was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Fishermen’s, which is now designed to withstand the wind speeds of a Category 5 hurricane, offers specialized services such as 24/7 emergency care with nine emergency department beds.
Mariners Hospital
91500 Overseas Highway
Tavernier
305-434-3000
In the Upper Keys, Mariners Hospital is a 25-bed hospital run by Baptist Health South Florida. Mariners dates back to 1962.
It’s home to the only hospital-based hyperbaric chamber in the Keys. It uses oxygen therapy to treat illnesses that include diving-related decompression sickness.
Urgent care and a house-call only service
Upper Keys
Advanced Urgent Care of the Florida Keys
100460 Overseas Highway, mile marker 100.5
Key Largo
305-294-0011 ext. 2
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Upper Keys Convenient Care
85960 Overseas Highway, mile marker 85.9
Islamorada
305-741-7721
Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The center was opened in 2018 by Liz Hussey, an advanced registered nurse practitioner and board certified family nurse practitioner who has been in the Keys since 1998. Upper Keys Convenient Care’s services include treatments for asthma, colds, coughs, the flu, ear aches and insect bites, along with routine physicals. Call for appointments after hours or on weekends.
Middle Keys
Advanced Urgent Care of the Florida Keys
13365 Overseas Hwy. Suite 102
Marathon
305-294-0011 ext. 3
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
With three locations in the Keys, this center treats a range of health problems. The list includes colds and coughs, ear and eye infections, insect bites, minor burns, asthma, cuts, sprains, fractures and chest pain. They also offer various lab and diagnostic tests such as CT scans, ultrasounds and X-rays.
Lower Keys
Advanced Urgent Care of the Florida Keys
1980 North Roosevelt Blvd.
Key West 305-294-0011 ext .1
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
This urgent care center has three locations in the Keys.
Key West Urgent Care and Family Doctor
1501 Government Rd.
Key West
Weekdays: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays.
305-295-7550
Key West Urgent Care and Family Doctor offers medical care for minor accidents and procedures, along with treatment for colds, flu, sore throat, eye, ear and skin infections and headaches. They also offer lab draws and vaccines for tetanus and hepatitis B and flu shots, along with annual physicals and other primary care services.
Marquesa Medical
305-504-5611
Amanda Tutlewski, a family nurse practitioner, says she opened Marquesa Medical to offer affordable and convenient health care for residents and visitors to the Keys. This practice only makes house calls. She keeps regular hours Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A visit starts at $200, plus additional costs for any testing, like for strep or the flu. Appointments after hours and on holidays may be available for an additional fee.
Hydration therapy
If you’re sick from a hangover after overdoing it with booze on Duval Street, several places offer “hydration therapy.” This means an intravenous shot of fluids and vitamins. These aren’t emergency medical centers. They are run under the direction of a licensed physician.
In Key West, several businesses, including spas, offer various IV cocktails. Some are mobile and will come to you. Their services are also marketed for those smarting from sunburns, down with migraines or recovering from a marathon run. Prices and lengths of services vary. But expect to spend about $150, or possibly more, and at least 30 minutes for the hangover helper.
Hangover Hospital
305-912-4911
Hangover Hospital’s IV menu includes hangover packages such as the Code Blue and the Lazarus, which promises to take you “from deathbed to remission in 45 minutes.” Call for appointments. They’ll come to you at no extra cost.
IVs in the Keys
Key West
531 Whitehead St.
305-395-8245
IV in the Keys describes itself as a modern wellness spa. Their 30-minute “Duval Crawl Cure All” runs $129. Their hours are listed as 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. They offer house calls with a fee for fewer than five people.
Keys IV Health and Hydration
335 Duval St.
Key West
305-413-0303
Located on Duval Street, Keys IV Health and Hydration also makes house calls for a fee. Their Dr. Feel Good IV hangover mix runs $179. The Gimme Some Water dehydration drip goes for $109. They have pricier IVs they offer for migraines or the flu.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
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