Sports Injuries Get Special Attention

Anyone connected to the United Nations or the French or Belgian embassies probably already knows Dr Jean Claude Garen, head of the Naga Medical Center, who is those organizations’ official physician.

Dr Garen is known around Phnom Penh as the city’s sports medicine specialist and many a rugby player has limped into his consulting room at the Hong Kong center on Sothearos Boulevard. He studied medicine at the University of Bordeau and has been practicing for 25 years now. 

After working in Cambodia for four years at SOS, Dr Garen opened the Naga clinic 18 months ago. 

Aside from the lame joggers and tennis elbow sufferers, a wide assortment of patients attend Naga’s spacious and spotless premises. Services offered include electrocardiogram analysis, emergency treatment, stabilization and, in the worst cases, medical evacuation, often to Bangkok.

As an experienced evacuation organizer, Dr Garen uses the services of Mondial, Europe Assistance and AXA to ensure his patients have a swift and safe trip to advanced hospitals outside Cambodia.

Also offering care at Naga are Dr Bernard Rio, who studied at the University of Lyon in France and specializes in general practice and tropical diseases, and Dr R.V. Rama, who provides the ob/gyn services. The antenatal equipment at her disposal include an ultrasound machine, to assist in monitoring fetal development. 

Cambodian Dr Khov Mong and French-trained nurse-practitioner Jean Francois Garapon round out the Naga team.
Fees at Naga are $30 for a simple first visit, with Cambodian nationals paying just half that. 

—Elizabeth Wright