Medical experts say that 25% of patients with COVID-19 experience symptoms long after they are infected with the virus.
“What we’re looking for are patients who don’t seem to be coming back to life,” said Dr. Dennis McGorry of St. Luke’s University Health Network.
The medical community calls those people “long carriers.”
To treat the growing number of long-distance transportation cases in Lehigh Valley, St. Luke set up a COVID-19 recovery clinic.
St. Luke says that about 85% of long-distance carriers are extremely tired. Breathing difficulties, joint and chest pain, sleep problems, mental disorders and brain fog are also common.
Anxiety and depression are also a factor, as are worries about irregular heartbeats.
“We’ve developed protocols and we apply them all to our primary care team to make sure we don’t miss one of these very important medical issues,” McGorry said.
St. Luke says the clinic includes medical experts from a wide range of fields, including physical and occupational therapy and COVID support groups.
“We truly believe that we are at the beginning of this. And that there are many more that will be found out and many more that we can do,” said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre along with St. Luke.
For more information about COVID Recovery Clinic, talk to your doctor.
If you are not in the St. Luke, you can call 866-785-8537 option 7.
St. Luke says he will work with all providers to ensure long carriers receive the treatment they need.