Ascension Wisconsin physician Dr. Erin O’Tool created Wisconsin’s first post-acute COVID care clinic in October 2020.
The Oak Creek clinic’s focus is on patients recovering from COVID-19 who experience symptoms long after their initial diagnosis.
O’Tool’s interest in this patient group began before there was a name for the phenomenon now known as long COVID. He conducted research and listened to patients to make sure they knew they were believed, said Patty Golden, clinical vice president of Ascension Medical Group Wisconsin.
Because long COVID symptoms vary widely and involve multiple organs and parts of the body, O’Tool launched a multidisciplinary outpatient access point to address a variety of symptoms. Two additional locations have since opened in Milwaukee and Racine.
O’Tool has shared his expertise with colleagues across the country and developed a playbook for other Ascension providers to follow, Golden said.
“Dr. O’Tool believes the pandemic is a generational defining moment and felt he needed to respond in the most meaningful way he could,” Golden said. “His compassionate and expert care has brought patients to see him not only from Wisconsin but across the Midwest.”
