HEALTH FIRST MEDICAL MINUTE: Health First Launches Post COVID-19 Care Program, Among First in Florida

By  //  January 27, 2023

Specifically designed to support the needs of those experiencing 'long COVID-19' symptoms

HFMM Post-COVID-19 Care Program from Health First on Vimeo.

The Post-Covid-19 Care Program is specifically designed to support the needs of those experiencing “long COVID-19” symptoms.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – COVID-19. It’s still here among us, and many – if not most – have experienced it once – if not more.

And although many who do test positive for Covid return to 100 percent within days, there are some who experience long Covid symptoms…sometimes lasting a year or more. These symptoms can be as minor as a languishing cough to serious issues, including memory loss, extreme fatigue, and brain fog.

It’s even having a major effect on the workforce!

A study highlighted in today’s New York Times reports that during the first two years of the pandemic, 71 percent of worker’s compensation claimants with long Covid needed continuing medical treatment or were unable to work for six months or more.

More than a year after contracting the coronavirus, 18 percent of long Covid patients had still not returned to work, more than three-fourths of them younger than 60, the analysis found.

Health First has launched a Post Covid Care program – one of the first such comprehensive programs in Florida and the first of its kind in Central Florida and Brevard County.

The Post-Covid-19 Care Program is specifically designed to support the needs of those experiencing “long COVID-19” symptoms. Utilizing the support of dedicated physicians and nurse navigator (RN), the program provides education, supportive resources, and the single-point coordination of system-wide care.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Post-COVID conditions can include a wide range of ongoing health problems. These conditions can last weeks, months … or longer.

Under the program, established Health First Medical Group patients who continue to experience symptoms at least one month after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result may be eligible to participate.

Continuing symptoms may include but are not limited to: Shortness of breath, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and chronic pain.

Patients will have the option to schedule a virtual intake session with a nurse navigator. Once the virtual intake session is complete, the patient will then complete any necessary evaluations and work with their primary care provider to develop a customized care plan.

The nurse navigator will utilize approved treatment guidelines to order lab work, diagnostic testing and make referrals and communicate the patient’s care plan and progress back to providers.

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