Norton Children's Hospital opens follow-up clinic for children who have had COVID-19

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Norton Children's Hospital has opened a follow-up clinic to check on children who have contracted COVID-19.

The facility, which is inside the Novak Center for Children's Health in downtown, is designed to help kids and teens manage any long-term symptoms from the virus, the hospital said in a news release Tuesday.

Norton said most children fully recover from COVID-19 without treatment, but for some, symptoms like fatigue, body aches, and loss of taste and smell can stick around for months.

Doctors at the clinic are recommending checkups for any child with symptoms lasting longer than two weeks.

"The COVID-19 Follow-up Clinic assesses the medical condition of children recovering from acute COVID-19 and determines if further testing or referral to a specialist is warranted," Dr. Gary Marshall, chief of pediatric infections diseases for Norton Children's and the U of L Department of Pediatrics, said in a news release.

To be referred to the clinic, hospital officials say children have to have had a proven or "strongly suspected" diagnoses of the virus, be fever-free without using medications, be 10 days past the first time they experienced symptoms or received a positive test result, and still feel unwell and symptomatic.

Referrals have to come from a physician. Appointments are available both in-person and virtually with a MyNortonChart account.