Medical center starts program for post-COVID ‘long-haulers’

Associated Press

4 years ago

Registered nurse Sandra Younan adjusts an intravenous line for a patient at the emergency room of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Younan spent the last year juggling long hours as she watched many patients struggle with the coronavirus and some die. Then there were the patients who claimed the virus was fake or coughed in her face, ignoring mask rules. One man stormed out of the hospital after a positive COVID-19 test, refusing to believe it was accurate. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has started a post-COVID-19 program for people feeling shortness of breath, fatigue and body aches, rapid heartbeat, memory issues, and other symptoms more than three months after they became infected.

The center said in a news release Tuesday the program for so-called “long-haulers” is the first in northern New England.

“Establishing our program at DHMC will provide access to a comprehensive medical team specializing in the various health problems we’re seeing in long-haul patients,” Dr. Jeffrey Parsonnet, an infectious disease specialist and program leader with a 10-member team said in a statement.

Patients with Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome accounts for about 10% to 30% of those who get the virus.