Top COVID-19 Research Organization HONOREE: Keck Medicine of USC COVID Recovery Clinic

The Keck Medicine of USC COVID Recovery Clinic is a multidisciplinary program led by a core team of physicians specializing in primary care, pulmonology and physical therapy who refer patients to Keck Medicine specialists as patients’ unique needs require. Specialists include physical and occupational therapists, behavioral health specialists, cardiologists, neurologists, rheumatologists, social workers and more. 

The core team works together – simultaneously seeing patients in none visit if needed – to create an initial comprehensive workup while partnering with a nurse navigator to implement an integrated, personalized treatment plan.

The nurse navigator is each patient’s first stop to help coordinate the initial patient visit. This team member contacts the patient prior to the appointment to understand the symptoms and care needs, so the team can design a comprehensive, personalized care plan for the patient, including access to social services and employment resources.

From there, a COVID Recovery Clinic primary care physician leads the collaborative, multidisciplinary care team to develop an initial comprehensive workup for each patient. 

Patients with a positive PCR test result for COVID-19 or persistent symptoms of COVID-19, including depression and anxiety, eight weeks or more after diagnosis, are eligible for the program. 

To date, this program has treated more than 190 patients, including one whose severe neurological symptoms were treated and managed so well that she was able to return to her full-time journalism career after taking more than a year off to see specialized long COVID-19 care.

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