CLEVELAND — Everyone’s COVID-19 experience is different, and some people take a lot longer to recover than others, so the Cleveland Clinic is opening a new clinic specifically to serve these individuals and sharing all the details about their unique needs in this week's 3 Things to Know with Stephanie Haney podcast.
Cleveland Clinic infectious disease specialist Dr. Kristin Englund joins me to explain what makes a patient qualify for treatment in the new 'Long COVID Clinic,' set to open at the end of January, and her goals for the program.
"We have put together a wonderful team of specialists really from virtually every specialty here at the Cleveland Clinic, and they’re bringing their own expertise based upon the symptoms that these patients are persisting with," Dr. Englund tells me in the new episode, released on Saturday, December 19.
"Our hope is to basically get an overall picture of what our patients are going through, and then be able to move them into the appropriate care path into the specialties where they’re going to get expert care."
If you think being young and healthy exempts you from worrying about becoming a COVID 'long hauler,' or a 'Long COVID' patient, as the doctors call them, think again.
"We’re seeing people of all ages, and people of all underlying health issues, many people who were perfectly healthy before they had their COVID diagnosis, and now they’re finding that their lives are a little bit different," Dr. Englund tells me. "They’re starting to have symptoms, they’re persisting with these symptoms for four weeks, several months, longer."
We cover a lot in the podcast, including how long these patients are contagious, whether they should get the COVID-19 vaccine, and the lasting symptoms that are most concerning to doctors.
Plus, 3News' Jason Frazer joins me to share what you Need to Know in NEO about the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Center, and I break down why the US Centers for Disease Controls (yes, the CDC), of all organizations is A Good Follow on Instagram.
For more on this, just search for 3 Things to Know with Stephanie Haney on your favorite podcast platform, or follow your preferred link below: