New HIV diagnoses in Lancaster County run about 59% lower than the U.S. average. If you're in Akron, Pennsylvania and seeking testing before starting a new relationship or as part of ongoing care, you can weigh insurance-billing clinics with sliding-scale fees against private labs that offer flat self-pay prices. The directory below has options.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Akron, PA. The nearest, Quest Diagnostics, is about 2.3 miles away. Compare community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
The Living Room in Ephrata welcomes patients without an appointment, letting a single walk-in visit cover syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening under one federal health center framework. Fees follow a sliding scale tied to income, so cost adjusts to what each patient can realistically pay.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Union Community Care in Lancaster takes walk-ins for rapid and conventional HIV testing alongside gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and TB. Same-visit treatment for bacterial STIs included. Fees run on a sliding scale and most insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, is accepted.
Union Community Care prescribes PrEP for ongoing HIV prevention, PEP for post-exposure HIV management, and DoxyPEP, doxycycline taken after potential bacterial STI exposure, for reducing gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis risk. Having all three under the same clinical relationship means prevention strategy can shift as circumstances change, without starting over with a new provider.
Union Community Care in Lancaster carries hepatitis C treatment on-site, not just the antibody test that flags the infection, but the antiviral care that clears it. For anyone without a standing relationship with a specialist, that means diagnosis and treatment resolve in the same place, with the same clinical team.
Splitting STI care and substance-use treatment between two providers means two intake processes, two wait lists, and a real chance one condition goes unaddressed while the other gets attention. Union Community Care holds both services, so neither is deferred to a second appointment at a separate facility.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Dec 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
Penn Medicine in Lancaster tests for HIV, hepatitis B and C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis. All at no charge, with sliding-scale fees across the broader service menu. Bacterial STIs are treated the same visit; PrEP and PEP are on hand. An appointment is required.
Plenty of clinics post a sliding scale and leave patients doing arithmetic in the waiting room. At Penn Medicine Lancaster, the full service menu (testing, treatment, vaccines, HIV care) is provided at no charge, so the cost question is settled before anyone walks through the door.
Penn Medicine Lancaster maintains Spanish-language services and broader interpretation access as a standing clinical capability, not an add-on arranged visit to visit. For patients whose primary language isn't English, that means medical history, treatment instructions, and follow-up conversations happen in full, without a gap in comprehension along the way.
Penn Medicine Lancaster prescribes and manages both PrEP and PEP internally: meaning the initial evaluation, the prescription itself, and the follow-up labs required to stay on PrEP safely are all handled by the same clinical team, without routing any piece of that process to an outside provider.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster runs entirely without fees, every test, every visit, every service costs nothing. By appointment, the clinic delivers rapid and conventional HIV testing, hepatitis C, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia testing, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and PrEP on-site.
Sliding-scale clinics still hand you a bill, reduced, but real. Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster charges nothing: not for testing, not for treatment, not for counseling. Every line item on their menu carries the same price.
When care happens in a second language, details slip. Dosing instructions misread, symptoms miscommunicated, follow-up skipped. At Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster, services are delivered in Spanish, so nothing critical depends on a patient piecing together meaning across a language gap.
PrEP at Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster isn't a recommendation to take elsewhere: clinicians prescribe and monitor the medication directly, which means required HIV tests and adherence counseling happen within the same appointment structure that started the prescription.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Dec 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
LCHA Farnum Street East, in Lancaster, carries federal qualification as a community health center, which means its STI screening fees follow a sliding scale tied to income. Walk-in patients can be tested for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia without needing an appointment first.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Free tool · not a clinic
Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Conclusive after |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Gonorrhea | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Trichomoniasis | 7 days after exposure | 28 days after exposure |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10 days after exposure | 33 days after exposure |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18 days after exposure | 45 days after exposure |
| HIV (antibody) | 21 days after exposure | 84 days after exposure |
| Syphilis | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis B | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis C | 56 days after exposure | 77 days after exposure |
| Herpes (HSV) | 28 days after exposure | 112 days after exposure |
Guidance only, confirm timing with a clinician. A negative result before the conclusive date may need a repeat test.
Typical out-of-pocket ranges by option, actual cost depends on which tests you need.
Public / community clinic
Free HIV testing is common
Private lab (self-pay)
Never billed to insurance
At-home kit
Mailed to your door, private
Doctor / urgent care
Often $0 preventive with insurance
No centers match those filters. Clear the service-type filter or the opening-hours filters to see every center.
Every other option
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
Test from home
The nearest testing center is about 2 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Akron, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome (opens in a new tab) program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
$79 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & up
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Lancaster County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
703 Lampeter Road, Lancaster, PA 17602
CMS-certified lab
690 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
1861 Charter Lane, Lancaster, PA 17601
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Akron. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 1,070 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Akron. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 411 offer telehealth.
Vu Nguyen, MD
Family medicine · 401 South 7th Street, Akron
Jillian Parsons, MD
Family medicine · 136 Lake Street, Ephrata
Melvin Habecker, DO
OB-GYN · 4239 Oregon Pike, Ephrata
Dorine Lantimo, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 4229 Oregon Pike, Ephrata
Cary Campanella, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 4131 A Oregon Pike, Ephrata
Jonathan Youngwirth, DO
Family medicine · 4131 Oregon Pike, Ephrata
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
No pharmacy near Akron, PA publishes an STD-related service or holds a current CLIA testing certificate, so these are simply the closest. Contact a location directly to confirm counter hours, services, prices, and availability before visiting.
Ephrata Pharmacy
2.0 miGiant Pharmacy
2.1 miWellspan Pharmacy
2.3 mi
2.6 mi Weis Pharmacy
2.7 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Akron, PA.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Akron, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
How reported STI rates in Lancaster County, the county that includes Akron, compare with Pennsylvania and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~24% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#33 of 67 Pennsylvania counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 51% of the state
| Infection | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 226.5 1,265 cases ▼ 46% | 421.2 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 59.4 332 cases ▼ 59% | 144.7 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 4.3 24 cases ▼ 53% | 9.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 6.1 34 cases ▼ 41% | 10.3 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 5.7 32 cases ▼ 50% | 11.4 | 29.5 |
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Between 2020 and 2023 in Lancaster County, chlamydia has fallen from 255.3 to 226.5 per 100,000 (11%), gonorrhea has fallen from 70.3 to 59.4 per 100,000 (16%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 7.8 to 4.3 per 100,000 (45%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Lancaster County.
Local HIV snapshot
Lancaster County HIV care continuum (2023)
Lancaster County recorded 5.6 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 8.3 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Lancaster County residents living with HIV, 82.3% are in care · 75.4% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC AtlasPlus · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Lancaster County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
South Reading Road runs through a part of Akron where roughly half of residents rent their homes: leases that turn over, life circumstances that shift, and the kind of transitional stretch that defines your mid-twenties more than any zip code does. For younger adults navigating new relationships, new roommates, and the particular financial math of $977-a-month rent, a screening appointment competes with everything else that needs doing before the week is out. That rental reality lands differently here because Akron's workforce participation is high: most adults are working, and unemployment carries real weight for those who aren't. Between a tight budget and a packed schedule, preventive care tends to slide.
The households earning well above the median have more scheduling flexibility; those closer to the edge of that divide often don't, and the under-35 crowd tends to cluster at that edge while they're still building toward stability. This isn't a place where you step off a bus and into a clinic; getting tested means getting in a car and driving, likely past the Ephrata Cloister stretch of PA 272, to reach the options listed on this page. Knowing which of options fits your distance and your budget, before you need it, is the whole thing.
Getting there
At 8.32/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Akron generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 17501 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 17501 area around Akron: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Akron alone.
Akron sits in Lancaster County, ZIP 17501. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Akron? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
Reference
Everything to know before you test in Lancaster County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Pennsylvania law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
| Group | Tests | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone aged 13–64 | HIV | At least once |
| Sexually active women under 25 | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Women 25+ with new or multiple partners | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Pregnant people | HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia | Early in pregnancy |
| Gay & bisexual men (MSM) | Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV | Every 3–6 months |
| Anyone who shares injection equipment | HIV, hepatitis B & C | At least yearly |
| All adults at least once | Hepatitis C | At least once |
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with an Akron-area provider.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Gonorrhea | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Trichomoniasis | 1–4 weeks | Urine or swab |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10–33 days | Blood |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18–45 days | Blood |
| HIV (antibody) | 3–12 weeks | Blood / oral |
| Syphilis | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis B | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis C | 8–11 weeks | Blood |
| Herpes (HSV) | 4–16 weeks (antibody); swab a sore | Blood / swab |
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Akron often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
| Test | Reference price | CPT / HCPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87491 |
| Gonorrhea (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87591 |
| Trichomoniasis (NAAT) | $47.76 | 87661 |
| HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody | $26.87 | 87389 |
| HIV-1/2 antibody | $22.44 | 86703 |
| Syphilis (RPR/VDRL) | $5.61 | 86592 |
| Syphilis (treponemal antibody) | $17.49 | 86780 |
| Herpes (HSV NAAT) | $47.76 | 87529 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen | $15.33 | 87340 |
| Hepatitis C antibody | $29.16 | 86803 |
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Two things that actually depend on Pennsylvania law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
In Pennsylvania, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Pennsylvania permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
Learn more about confidential STD testing in PennsylvaniaSource: Guttmacher Institute, Minors' Access to STI Services; CDC, Legal Status of Expedited Partner Therapy. General information, not legal advice.
Good to Know
Answers to the questions people ask most before getting tested.
The closest is Quest Diagnostics (2.3 mi); 9 options are within 30 miles.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Public clinics nearby offer free HIV testing.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 227 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Pennsylvania average.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Pennsylvania, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
It's cured with antibiotics; treating partners together prevents reinfection.
There's no cure, but antivirals manage symptoms well and reduce transmission.
It depends: a blood draw covers HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, while urine or a swab covers chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.