Terrell County reports about 2730 chlamydia cases per 100,000 residents. If you’re in Dawson, Georgia, for a one-time concern or regular check-ups, you may need to weigh clinics that bill insurance or offer sliding-scale fees against private labs with flat self-pay prices. See options below.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Dawson, GA. The nearest, CareConnect Convenient Care, is about 0.3 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.
CareConnect Convenient Care in Dawson earned its federally qualified health center designation by tying fees to patient income: meaning syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening costs scale with what you actually earn, and no appointment is needed to get started.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Albany Area Primary Health Care in Dawson tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV on a sliding-scale fee that adjusts to income, with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance all accepted. Appointments are required, and bacterial STIs can be treated the same visit.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Georgia Department of Public Health in Dawson runs STI care through a public health infrastructure built for the county, offering the standard bacterial and viral panel on a sliding scale, with appointments required, and same-visit treatment for bacterial infections, all provided at no fee.
When cost becomes the reason someone delays follow-up or skips a return visit, gaps in care open up that compound over time. Georgia Department of Public Health in Dawson eliminates that pressure entirely: testing, treatment, and vaccines carry no fee, so nothing on the care plan gets quietly dropped because of what it would cost.
Missing a hepatitis diagnosis because it wasn't on the panel means a separate appointment, a separate cost, and a condition progressing untreated in the meantime. Georgia Department of Public Health in Dawson tests for hepatitis A, B, and C alongside HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, and carries hepatitis A and B vaccines, so the full picture comes from a single visit.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Feb 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Lee Medical Arts Center in Leesburg meets patients where they are (between providers, paying cash, or navigating income gaps) through its federally qualified status, which ties fees to a sliding income scale. Syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening is available without an appointment.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
AAPHC Renaissance Center in Albany structures its STI screening fees on a sliding scale tied to income, so cost is never a barrier to care. As a federally qualified health center, it offers syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening without requiring an appointment.
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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Dawson, 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 for simplicity & support
$89 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & 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.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 137 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Dawson. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 28 offer telehealth.
Rupert Dyer, MD
Family medicine · 455 Greenwave Boulevard, Dawson
Devell Young, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 101 Oakland Crossing Drive, Leesburg
James Hotz, MD
Internal medicine · 118 Robert B Lee Drive, Leesburg
Latifat Agbeja, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 2402 Osler Court, Albany
Peggy Bergrab, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 2709 Meredyth Drive, Albany
Derek Heard, MD
Family medicine · 2709 Meredyth Drive, Albany
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 Dawson, GA 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.
Moseley Drug Company
0.0 miDawson Pharmacy
0.2 miShellman Drug Company
9.7 miShellman Pharmacy
10 miThe Pharmhouse
15 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Dawson, GA.
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 Dawson, 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 $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
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 Terrell County, the county that includes Dawson, compare with Georgia 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.
#1 of 159 Georgia counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Terrell County | Georgia | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 2730 238 cases ▲ 322% | 646.4 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 1342.1 117 cases ▲ 388% | 274.8 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 20 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 11.5 1 cases ▼ 37% | 18.4 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 45.9 4 cases ▲ 28% | 35.8 | 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 Terrell County, chlamydia has risen from 2079.5 to 2730 per 100,000 (31%), gonorrhea has risen from 522.6 to 1342.1 per 100,000 (157%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 21.8 to 11.4 per 100,000 (48%).
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 Terrell County.
Local HIV snapshot
Terrell County HIV care continuum (2023)
Terrell County recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 25.5 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Terrell County residents living with HIV, 81.3% are in care · 66.7% 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 Terrell County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
For the roughly six in ten households here that rent rather than own, that planning often runs up against a tight budget and a schedule shaped by a labor market where a meaningful share of working-age adults are either outside the workforce or between jobs. Those circumstances land hardest on younger adults, people in their late teens and twenties forming new relationships and partnerships, for whom an unscheduled afternoon and reliable transportation are both things you can't assume. Household sizes here skew toward multiple people sharing a roof, which can mean less flexibility, not more, when it comes to carving out time for a clinic visit on North Main Street's end of town or farther out along GA 32.
What that means practically: cost matters enormously here. With typical rents absorbing a real share of take-home pay and high-earning households representing a small fraction of the total, sliding-scale fees and no-cost testing programs aren't a convenience. They're what makes the difference for the majority of Dawson renters who hold no private cushion against a surprise out-of-pocket charge.
Getting there
At 5.81/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Dawson 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 39842 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 39842 area around Dawson: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Dawson alone.
Dawson sits in Terrell County, ZIP 39842. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Dawson? 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 Terrell County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Georgia 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 a Dawson-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 Dawson 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 Georgia 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 Georgia, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Georgia 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 GeorgiaSource: 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 CareConnect Convenient Care (0.3 mi); 8 options are within 30 miles.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Yes, community and public clinics test the uninsured, with sliding-scale fees.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 2,730 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Georgia average.
In Georgia, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Lab results typically come back in 1–2 days.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 39842; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
Expedited partner therapy lets a provider treat a partner without an exam, where state law allows.
Just note your exposure dates and symptoms; for urine tests, hold off urinating ~1 hour before.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.