Dr. Michael Czarnecki of Pulmonary & Critical Care of Chattanooga, a.k.a. “The Lung Docs,” announces the new Hixson location of Pulmonary & Critical Care of Chattanooga will host a monthly support group for patients suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19.
This post-COVID-19 clinic will include a checkup once a month at the brand-new Innovative Lung Lab at the Hixson Lung Center, 5441 Hwy. 153, Suite 200 in Hixson.
These visits are treated as a routine office visit; co-pays and insurance charges apply. “Long-haulers” will also find support in the form of a Facebook group. The post-COVID clinic will begin after Labor Day, with the exact date to be announced.
Officials said, "As COVID-19 continues to grip countries across the globe, physicians and scientists are increasing their research on populations of people that have become known as 'COVID
long-haulers' — people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have “recovered” (exact
criteria for being a “recovered” COVID-19 patient is still to be widely determined) but continue to
suffer from lingering symptoms and chronic illness.
"Some of the documented symptoms of COVID 'long-haulers' include persistent positive
COVID-19 tests (this is when PCR testing remains positive but you are no longer considered
infectious), ongoing shortness of breath, heavy chest pain, dull and achy joints, swelling of the
ankles and feet, dull headaches and issues specific to the vessels in the heart, lungs and brain.
These ongoing symptoms have been reported weeks — and even months — after an initial
positive COVID-19 diagnosis."