It’s a miracle that Anthony Lavergne survived COVID-19. In 2020, the Gardena, California man spent six weeks in a coma at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. When the ordeal was over, he re-emerged a changed man: he was 50 pounds lighter, had to relearn how to walk, and needed a month of specialized lung care at another hospital.

Lavergne’s struggles didn’t end there. He continued to battle Long COVID symptoms, including brain fog, depression, lingering heart and lung issues, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to nerve damage from a stroke while hospitalized, he also had to regain the use of his right hand. He couldn’t even think of returning to work. This is where post-COVID clinics come in.*

The Rise of Post-COVID Care

It’s anticipated that, like Anthony Lavergne, some 10%-30% of people with COVID-19 will go on to suffer lingering issues, like brain fog, loss of taste or smell, breathlessness, debilitating fatigue, and severe headaches. Because of this influx of patients, specialized care clinics have arisen across the U.S. Infectious disease specialist Catherine N. Le, M.D., who co-directs the COVID-19 Recovery Program at Cedars-Sinai, says several factors have driven the creation of these programs, including:

• Many Long COVID patients were fearful of visiting doctors’ offices, or the offices were closed, during the pandemic.
• Concerns of patients who did seek care were being disregarded by their providers, or patients were immediately given referrals to specialists.
• The medical community recognized a glaring deficiency in care, as well as a clear research opportunity to learn more about Long COVID and patients’ needs.

All 50 states now have post-COVID care clinics. Many of them are in major cities.

What to Expect at a Post-COVID Clinic

Generally, your first visit to a post-COVID clinic will start with an assessment, which may be done by a primary care provider. Because of the diversity and complexity of long COVID symptoms, new patients at Watson Clinic in Lakeland, Florida spend an hour with internal medicine specialist Kathleen Haggerty, M.D. 

You’ll then consult with appropriate specialists in that health system. Stony Brook Medicine’s Post-COVID Clinic, for example, tries to book multiple onsite appointments on the same day for patient convenience. Post-COVID care specialists cover a wide variety of medical areas, such as:

• Cardiology (heart)
• Ear, nose, and throat 
• Infectious disease
• Neurology (brain, spinal cord, nerves)
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
• Pulmonology (lungs)
• Mental health

Not all clinics cover all specialties, however. 

Long COVID Treatment

Long COVID treatment plans at a post-COVID care clinic are individualized for each patient, and may include:

• Medication or cardiac rehabilitation 
• Physical therapy 
• Pulmonary rehabilitation 
• Sense of smell training 
• Medication and/or therapy for treating anxiety and depression

A post-COVID care center is also sometimes better able to find the cause of a person’s symptoms than a busy ER. For instance, New York resident Daria Fahrenkrug was dealing with persistent heart palpitations and a fever of about 100.7 degrees after a bout with COVID in January 2021. Unable to return to her managerial position at a veterinary hospital, she turned to urgent care, but came away disappointed. Stony Brook, however, was able to determine that she had mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus) triggered by the coronavirus. Fahrenkrug was able to find relief from the fever and return to her job in April 2021.

How Effective Are the Treatments?

Le says it isn’t always possible to return patients to their previous level of health, but Sritha Rajupet, M.D. at Stony Brook says providers have seen overall patient progress. “A fair amount of patients improve over time, but it’s slow and steady.” At the same time, “others haven’t seen the improvement they’d like to see.” She says that while providers can’t predict when patients will see improvement, this uncertainty can bring patients and providers closer as they seek solutions together.

As for Lavergne, he is still being treated but continues to make progress, and says that his interactions with providers at the clinic help keep his spirits up. Experts urge patients to stay positive. “People do get better,” Le says, “and there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

*Caceres, V. (2021, October 26). How Do Post-COVID Care Clinics Help Long COVID Patients? U.S. News and World Report. https://health.usnews.com/conditions/coronavirus-and-your-health/articles/post-covid-care-clinics