Health and Safety

HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

When your child is going abroad, health and safety concerns are paramount. Our first obligation, above everything else we aim to provide, is to ensure the safety and security of your child or children. Traveling abroad and having new experiences in a different environment can affect a student’s health.

When choosing a study abroad program, we urge you to be informed about the program orientation, the available medical facilities on-site, the safety precautions put in place by the program, and all required or provided insurance. We hope that below you will find the information to answer all your questions. If not, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL

Many of the steps toward a safe and healthy travel abroad experience happen before we set foot on the plane. We do our best to prepare students for their trip during orientation. The orientation in Boston, MA is an essential part of our program. It is a chance for students and staff to get to know each other and build the trust that is essential to our travel.

Staff provide students with information about Chiang Mai so that they are prepared for the culture they intend to visit. They also provide opportunities for students to begin working together, and establish the safety guidelines and expectations for our journey. We also talk privately with students about any medical or safety concerns they might have in order to ensure that we can properly care for all students.

If your child has been using services in the US to address or accommodate a disability, please be aware that such services are not the same in Thailand as they are at home. Disabled students study/travel abroad successfully all the time, and we will do our best to accommodate your child. Please make sure that you and your child understand what accommodations can and will be made before committing to the program. In some cases, your child’s needs may determine whether the program is suitable for him or her.

Thailand is generally ill-equipped to accommodate physically disabled travelers. Orthopedic materials are not readily available, and replacements or repairs for prostheses may be difficult to arrange. There is little wheel-chair access to public transportation and public buildings. Rural areas often have no sidewalks and Chiang Mai’s sidewalks are filled with curbs, steps, and trees. Much of our fieldwork will require rather strenuous trekking through natural terrain, which may be inaccessible to some students.

We require that each student provide a physician’s statement that he or she is in good health to travel and participate in all Loop activities. Visits to your child’s physician, gynecologist, and dentist are advised to ensure that your child is leaving the US healthy. Please allow adequate time to address any health issues before leaving, including receiving any required or recommended vaccines. Individual health concerns should always be addressed by a timely visit, well in advance of your departure, to a qualified travel physician.

We also require all participants to have health insurance, and strongly encourage you to purchase additional travel insurance for your child, beyond that which is included in the program. Also, be sure to check your primary policy to determine the coverage it provides for medical services abroad, and whether your plan pays the provider in your child's host country directly or requires you to pay initially and seek reimbursement later. Just in case, it is also a good idea to make certain that your policy covers the continuing treatment of any newly acquired medical conditions once your child or children return home.

In addition, we ask that each family complete a series of health forms providing us all relevant health information about medications, allergies, and any other pertinent information. One essential component of our safeguarding your children’s health is adequate information. Our staff members are not licensed health professionals, although they are certified in CPR and First Aid. Complete and thorough medical information will help us ensure that any necessary medical attention is received promptly and safely. This includes allergies, past psychological therapy or trauma, dietary requirements, disabilities, and any other medical or special educational needs.

Any student with a medical condition such as diabetes, an allergy to antibiotics, epilepsy or a heart condition, is required to obtain a medicalert bracelet (www.medicalert.org) before leaving the US and to wear said bracelet at all times. Parents should also provide Loop Abroad with their child’s current prescriptions, including eyeglasses, to ensure that they can be refilled or replaced as needed. If you think your child will need regular medical care abroad, please provide your student and our staff with a letter from your child’s doctor including the details of the treatment he or she is to receive.

GENERAL HEALTH INFORMATION FOR THAILAND

Health and safety issues to consider when traveling in Southeast Asia generally include water safety, political unrest, and exposure to malaria. The water in Chiang Mai is clean, but over-chlorinated. Therefore, instances of water-borne diseases are low, and the water is appropriately clean for showers and cooking. Students will be drinking only bottled water, which is available free of charge at Spicy Thai hostel, in the field, and at ENP.

The US State Department has encouraged visitors to Thailand and many other countries to avoid political demonstrations, which occur infrequently but can become violent. Political demonstrations are most often planned and announced in advance, and are generally easily avoided. Loop Abroad’s policy is to avoid demonstrations and areas of political unrest, and avoid political discussions in public while abroad.

The Center for Disease Control has reported no recent cases of malaria in Chiang Mai. Spicy Thai is air conditioned with closed windows in the evenings. Participants can look at the CDC’s malaria map (http://cdc-malaria.ncsa.uiuc.edu/) for more information. For this reason, we do not require students to bring anti-malarial medication with them. The risk of contracting malaria is very low in the jungle areas surrounding Chiang Mai, but it is not zero. Students who feel the need to do so may receive a prescription for anti-malarial drugs in the US. Students will have access to strong anti-insect repellent before all outdoor activities, and will be encouraged to wear long sleeves and pants when appropriate.

HEALTH FACILITIES IN CHIANG MAI

One of benefits of Loop Abroad’s program over other summer abroad programs is that students live with other American students in the program as well as our American and Thai staff. This allows them to maintain some semblance of their home life while still being immersed daily in a new culture. It also means that student concerns or worries can be raised in a safe and comfortable environment, and students who are feeling culture shock or homesickness can be supported and have a great experience.

Though our Chiang Mai location offers us access to pristine environments from protected rainforests to secluded caves and some of the nation’s tallest mountains, it also provides all the services of a world-class city. Students will have access to all the same toiletries and sterile first-aid products they can purchase at home. (For more information on which products students should bring from home, accepted students should refer to their student handbooks.) Pharmacies in the area stock allergy medication, pain relievers, fever reducers, antibiotics, and many other common drugs, all of which are available without a prescription.

Chiang Mai is home to Chiang Mai Ram hospital, which is only five minutes from Spicy Thai. The US State Department says that medical treatment in Thailand is generally adequate to American standards. The largest private hospital in the city, Chiang Mai Ram offers an English-speaking International Visitor staff. Of course, we have staff members fluent in Thai and English with our students all times to further facilitate communication in case of an emergency.

Chiang Mai Ram is recognized as a world-class health care provider with state-of-the-art medical facilities on par with Western hospital facilities. Private hospitals in Thailand’s major cities are known for their English-speaking doctors, foreign insurance claim assistance, international emergency medical evacuation access, and embassy liaison services. In fact, private health care in the country is so good that medical tourism for both essential and cosmetic services is growing rapidly, a measure of the high quality, respectful treatment, and relatively low cost of Thai medical services. Our on-site staff is large enough to support keeping an American staff member with any student requiring medical care at all times.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Students will find that they feel safe and secure when traveling in Chiang Mai. Our staff has spent months in Chiang Mai and has chosen the program facilities and activities based firstly on the safety and dependability of the experience they offer. Living at Spicy Thai affords our students a high level of safety.

Spicy Thai is in a wealthy, gated community that is guarded 24-hours a day. Because our staff and students will be the only guests living at the hostel during our stay, we have full control over the premises. All doors will be locked each evening, and closed-circuit cameras throughout the property help ensure that students are kept safe at all times. Staff will be on-site 24-hours a day to handle any emergencies that arise.

When out in the city or surrounding areas, students will be with experienced tour guides who are familiar with the area and fluent in English and Thai.

Of course, students themselves must take certain precautions to ensure their own safety and security. Before arriving in Boston and during the orientation, students will be made aware of the behaviors that are expected of them. Only by following our safety protocols can students and staff take ownership for their own experience and gain the full benefit of the program for themselves and their fellow students.

LEGAL PRECAUTIONS ABROAD

While in Thailand, US Citizens are subject to Thai laws and regulations. During our orientation, students are familiarized with Thai laws that may be relevant. Students should be advised that, generally, Thai penalties for certain offenses are far more severe than those in the US. In Thailand, ignorance of the law is no defense. Speaking negatively about the King or defacing his picture in public (including pictures on currency) is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

Penalties for possessing or using illegal drugs, including marijuana, are severe and can include long jail sentences in harsh conditions and steep fines. Serious drug offenses carry the death penalty. Often times, the US embassy is not contacted until days or weeks after an arrest. Shoplifting of even the smallest item may be prosecuted by steep fines or long jail sentences, especially in the airport.

Though we expect that our students always follow American laws at home, it is extremely important that Thai laws are followed carefully. Penalties are steep, the legal system does not offer the same protections as the US legal system, and there is very little leniency for foreigners. Students should be aware of the potential life-altering consequences for themselves and their parents of what would be minor offenses at home.

We advise parents to think carefully about whether their children are mature enough to handle this responsibility in a new environment. In addition to Thai laws, Loop Abroad students are expected to obey American laws while traveling abroad, as well as uphold the Loop Abroad standards of conduct. For example, students are expressly prohibited from consuming alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs or participating in inappropriate physical contact. Strictly enforcing these rules is essential for ensuring student safety. Please refer to the Application for more information.

MORE INFORMATION

The more informed you and your child are about your child’s travel abroad experience, the more successful the experience will be. If you are looking for more health-related information, consider the following sources:
• Your family physician
• A local travel medical clinic, which often have special information on health
concerns abroad
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) (1-800-232-4636), for general health
information
• Regional health advisories from the CDC for Thailand (www.cdc.gov/travel)
•U.S. State Department Overseas Citizens Emergency Center (http://travel.state.gov) (1-202-663-1225),
for information on health emergencies abroad; (1-877-FYI-TRIP) for
information of food and water precautions and insect bite prevention
• Mobility International (www.miusa.org) (1-503-343-1284), for disability services for international students
• World Health Organization (www.who.int/countries/en), for country-specific health information