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| FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is offering a new clinic in Fayetteville for patients who still have symptoms of COVID-19 infection three weeks or more after testing positive for COVID.
Some people report continuing to experience symptoms of COVID-19 weeks or months after being diagnosed. Commonly called prolonged COVID, these symptoms — such as shortness of breath, muscle aches, cough, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, or difficulty concentrating — are either symptoms people didn’t have before the virus or ones that have worsened since their diagnosis.
“Because the coronavirus can attack the lungs, heart, brain and other organs, there can be permanent internal damage,” said Dr. Sheena Carley, UAMS internal medicine physician and director of the UAMS Health Long COVID Clinic. “If these organs are damaged, it can greatly increase the risk of long-term health problems.”
Carley said the need for the clinic became apparent as she and her colleagues began to see former COVID patients return to the clinic with lingering symptoms of the virus. CarlLee also pointed out that even patients who had mild symptoms when they tested positive can develop other symptoms months later that may be related to their COVID-19 infection.
“We see patients with a wide variety of symptoms that require a unique treatment regimen,” she said. “We treat the whole patient. Our long-term COVID clinic offers extensive assessment by a team of students and trained healthcare providers from the disciplines of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and radiation sciences. In addition, the team is working closely with researchers at the Little Rock campus to improve our knowledge and treatment options for patients affected by prolonged COVID.”
The UAMS Health Long COVID Clinic is unique in that it is one of the only clinics in the state dedicated to treating prolonged COVID, CarlLee said.
The clinic is located in the UAMS Health Neighborhood Clinic at 1125 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville. To schedule an appointment, please call 479-713-8701.
UAMS is the only state health sciences university with colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions and public health; high school; hospital; main campus in Little Rock; Northwest Arkansas Regional Campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that spans the entire UAMS clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only Level 1 trauma center for adults in the state. UAMS has 3,047 students, 873 physicians and fellows, and six dentists. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who care for patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, TwitterYouTube or Instagram.
The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus includes 288 medical, pharmacy, nursing and health professions students, 64 physicians and pharmacists, two sports medicine fellows and 1,000 community educators. The campus has nine clinics, including a student-run clinic and physical, occupational and speech therapy. Faculty conduct research to reduce health disparities.
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