In Bienville Parish, reported gonorrhea ran about 76% higher than the US average. If you've had a recent risk in Gibsland, Louisiana or simply test on a regular schedule, you can visit a clinic and get immediate answers and care, or use an at-home kit and mail in your sample. Both options have their advantages.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Gibsland, LA. The nearest, Louisiana Department of Health, is about 8.3 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.
Louisiana Department of Health in Arcadia operates within a public health department structure, anchoring STI care (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV testing) alongside TB screening, family planning, and HPV and hepatitis A and B vaccination, all on a sliding-scale fee basis, by appointment.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Mercy Medical Health Center of Arcadia and Mercy Medicine of Arcadia, in Arcadia, anchors its STI care in a federally qualified framework: fees slide with income so cost isn't a barrier. Walk-ins are welcome for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening without an appointment.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
A safety-net rural health clinic about 13 miles from Gibsland. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
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 8 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Gibsland, 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.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Bienville Parish, 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.
1175 Pine Street, Suite 200, Arcadia, LA 71001
CMS-certified lab
3342 Bienville Road, Ringgold, LA 71068
CMS-certified lab Accredited · Joint Commission
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Gibsland. 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, 61 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Gibsland. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 5 offer telehealth.
Sharon Joiner, MD
Internal medicine · 1175 Pine Street, Arcadia
Robert Russell
OB-GYN · 1111 Homer Road, Minden
Joseph Nida, MD
Family medicine · 208 Morris Drive, Minden
John Mercer, MD
OB-GYN · 431 Homer Road, Minden
Kathleen Mont-Louis, MD
OB-GYN · 346 Homer Road, Minden
Gregory Phillips, MD
Family medicine · 812 Broadway Street, Minden
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 Gibsland, LA 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.
Chris Cole Pharmacy
7.8 miArcadia Family Pharmacy
8.2 miMary Bird Perkins Pharmacy Minden
13 mi
13 mi Freds Stores of Tennessee
13 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Gibsland, LA.
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 Gibsland, 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
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
$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 Bienville Parish, the parish that includes Gibsland, compare with Louisiana and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~26% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#27 of 64 Louisiana counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 58% of the state
| Infection | Bienville Parish | Louisiana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 760.1 94 cases ▼ 4% | 792.4 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 315.4 39 cases ▲ 9% | 288.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 32.3 4 cases ▲ 24% | 26.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 16.2 2 cases ▼ 17% | 19.6 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 24.3 3 cases ▼ 54% | 52.6 | 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 Bienville Parish, chlamydia has risen from 670.2 to 760.1 per 100,000 (13%), gonorrhea has fallen from 400.6 to 315.4 per 100,000 (21%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 7.7 to 32.3 per 100,000 (319%).
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 Bienville Parish.
Local HIV snapshot
Bienville Parish HIV care continuum (2021)
Bienville Parish recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2021), against 22.5 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Bienville Parish residents living with HIV, 65.9% are in care · 59.1% 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 Bienville Parish tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
I-20 cuts through Gibsland as Powell, Barnes, and Deal Memorial Highway, and that corridor tells you something about how daily life here is organized: most households own their homes, the majority include families with more than two people under one roof, and decisions about health tend to be collective ones, weighed alongside work schedules, shared vehicles, and household budgets that leave little margin. That household character shapes how screening fits into a week. For young adults in their late teens and twenties, who are at the years when STI transmission peaks biologically and socially, that drive is the real calculation: whether the nearest listed site is worth the gas and the errand. The extremely modest rent levels here also signal that even small out-of-pocket costs can quietly tip the balance.
Bienville Parish's STI figures reflect what happens when that calculation gets deferred too long across a community. For someone living along this stretch of I-20, staying current with screening means the county's numbers describe a trend they're watching. Not one they're part of.
Getting there
At 3.9/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Gibsland 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 71028 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 71028 area around Gibsland: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Gibsland alone.
Gibsland sits in Bienville Parish, ZIP 71028. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Gibsland? 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 Bienville Parish: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Louisiana 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 Gibsland-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 Gibsland 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Louisiana 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 LouisianaSource: 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.
Arcadia, LA is a nearby town with options, the listing shows each one's distance so you can pick the closest.
Usually yes, it can be billed to insurance, or paid out of pocket at a flat rate.
Louisiana Department of Health, about 8.3 mi away, provides free testing.
A full panel typically covers chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C.
Bienville Parish reported ~760 chlamydia cases per 100,000 in 2023, below the Louisiana average.
At-home kits mail to 71028: self-collect, send to the lab, results in ~2–5 days.
In Louisiana, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Usually urine or a swab for chlamydia/gonorrhea, and blood for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis.
It can: too soon and a real infection may not show yet. Retest after the window to be sure.
Go to an ER or call RAINN (800-656-4673); they provide testing, PEP, and support right away.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.