AtlantiCare opens Post-COVID-19 Long-Haul Clinic

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2021

AtlantiCare has opened a program to provide ongoing care for individuals who have complications from COVID-19 – a Post-COVID-19 Long-Haul Clinic. It is open to those who have been diagnosed with COVID and have experienced persistent symptoms/health issues lasting or appearing more than 30 days after being infected with the virus.

Through the service, which opened April 26, an AtlantiCare board-certified internal medicine physician holds a one-hour telehealth screening and assessment meeting with the patient. The care team identifies treatment/rehabilitation needs, then coordinates virtual and in-person appointments with specialists as needed. Specialist appointments include:

The Post-COVID-19 Long-Haul Clinic Team will continue to coordinate care with the patient and the individuals’ primary care provider and specialists.

“We designed this coordinated program to help individuals in our community who have experienced a wide-range of these ongoing COVID-caused issues,” said Mary Ann Yehl, DO, medical director, Telemedicine and Ambulatory Quality, AtlantiCare. “Consistent with trends we had identified, the most common issues we’ve seen through the clinic are anxiety and/or depression. They are followed by neurological problems, including cognitive issues and short-term memory loss, and lung and respiratory issues. Other patients have physical rehabilitation and other needs.”

COVID-19 Long-Haul symptoms can include

• Chronic, non-specific musculoskelatal pain or joint pain
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Memory changes/“brain fog”
• Shortness of breath
• General numbness and tingling in arms, legs, hands and feet
• Weakness/decreased endurance

Post-COVID health issues can include

• Blood clots/blood vessel problems
• Heart, lung, kidney and/or brain damage/problems
• Depression/anxiety
• Post traumatic stress syndrome
• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome

“Our team provides personalized care management plans that focus on each individual’s unique recovery, rehabilitation and personal wellness needs to ensure their overall health, well-being, and quality of life,” said Manish Trivedi, MD, director of Infectious Diseases and co-chair, Infection Prevention Committee, AtlantiCare.

To make an appointment or for more information, call 609-484-7355 or visit AtlantiCare’s website.

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AtlantiCare is an integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 6,000 staff, providers and volunteers serve the community in more than 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Its vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time, through caring and trusting relationships. A Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was the 105th hospital in the nation to attain the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet™ designation in 2004 and earned redesignation in 2008, 2013, in 2018. Learn more at atlanticare.org or 1-888-569-1000.