Beginning today (Sept. 29, 2021), all clinic services, including urgent care, will require an appointment. This clinic practice is temporary.
“We are seeing an increased number of patients seeking care, particularly for COVID-19 testing. Requiring an appointment will restore capacity for our providers to see patients in a timely manner,” said Mikel Holland, President and Chief Medical Officer at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital.
Clinic hours remain 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Urgent care hours are 8 a.m.-7p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturdays. Individuals are asked to call the clinic at 605-224-5901 to schedule an appointment. For COVID-19 testing, call 605-945-4984.
“We encourage people to be tested if they develop symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, runny nose or body aches. Don’t pass it off as a cold or the flu. Get tested – it could be COVID-19,” Dr. Holland said. “It’s especially important to stay home if you are sick to prevent spreading illness to others.”
If you have symptoms, you should isolate at home until test results are returned. If positive, you should isolate at home for at least 10 days since the onset of symptoms and until you’ve been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and your symptoms are improving.
Avera continues to recommend that all who are eligible get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“People who are vaccinated are less likely to get COVID, be hospitalized or need ICU care for COVID. Breakthrough cases are possible– no vaccine prevents an illness 100%. The COVID vaccines are doing a great job of preventing cases, hospitalizations and deaths overall in our population. The majority of COVID-19 cases requiring ICU care are among the unvaccinated, as are deaths from the virus,” Dr. Holland said. “The more people who get vaccinated, the more cases will be prevented.”
Most local clinics and pharmacies offer vaccine appointments. To schedule an appointment at Avera Medical Group, call 605-945-5269. To find COVID-19 vaccine locations near you, visit vaccines.gov.
In addition to getting vaccinated, Avera encourages people to follow CDC guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus, including wearing masks in indoor public settings, distancing, hand hygiene and staying home when sick.
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