In Lake County, new HIV diagnoses run about 50% lower than the US average. If you're starting a new relationship or maintaining ongoing sexual health care in Highwood, Illinois, consider whether you prefer the lower cost of community and public clinics or the faster results and scheduling of private labs. This list below can help you decide.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Highwood, IL. The nearest, Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, is about 1.5 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.
Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, in Highland Park, runs by appointment, and a single scheduled visit covers gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis C, and TB testing alongside same-visit bacterial treatment, vaccines, and sliding-scale fees. Care is delivered in Spanish.
Many STI clinics patch in Spanish as a workaround, something arranged after the fact, at a remove from the actual clinical conversation. At Lake County Health Department, Spanish is a language the clinic works in directly, so nothing about exposure history, medication instructions, or prevention planning gets filtered through a second step.
Lake County Health Department prescribes PrEP, PEP, and DoxyPEP under one roof, which means a prevention plan, whether ongoing or time-sensitive, doesn't require splitting care across multiple providers or waiting on outside referrals to catch up.
For someone paying out of pocket or navigating care without a primary physician, hepatitis C testing is part of the panel at Lake County Health Department. Meaning a complete picture of hepatitis exposure, not just the bacterial STIs, is available on a sliding-scale fee at a single appointment.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Sep 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
Greater Family Health in Wheeling is a family practice where sliding-scale fees apply to everyone, Medicaid and Medicare are accepted, and the panel covers rapid and conventional HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and hepatitis C. Appointments required; Spanish spoken on-site.
Greater Family Health carries Spanish-language care through every stage of a visit, including HIV test counseling and medication adherence conversations. That means nuance around dosing, exposure history, and treatment expectations gets communicated precisely. Not approximated.
Greater Family Health holds Ryan White funding, which means someone without insurance or stable HIV care can access everything from initial testing through ongoing medical treatment and medication support at this clinic. That continuity (one practice, funded care, no hand-off) is the specific capability Ryan White makes possible here.
Leaving a clinic with prevention unmistakably in reach matters, a gap between needing PrEP or PEP and actually starting it is where transmission risk lives. Greater Family Health prescribes both on-site, so neither medication requires a separate specialist visit or a second appointment elsewhere to obtain.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages, Spanish
Tests offered
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Cook County Health in Arlington Heights delivers the full STI panel (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, and HIV) with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections, sliding-scale fees for all, and every service provided at no charge.
For anyone managing care without a regular provider, paying entirely out of pocket, or stretching a tight budget across multiple medications, Cook County Health in Arlington Heights carries no cost at the point of care. Testing, treatment, PrEP, PEP, vaccines. The entire scope runs at no fee.
Cook County Health in Arlington Heights prescribes both daily oral PrEP and post-exposure PEP directly, with the medication adherence education and counseling built into ongoing HIV management: meaning the prescription, the follow-up labs, and the dosing support stay within a single care relationship.
Many clinics detect hepatitis C antibodies and hand the treatment question to someone else entirely. Cook County Health in Arlington Heights treats hepatitis C on-site, so a confirmed infection moves directly into antiviral management without the gap of an outside referral chain.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jan 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
AHS Family Health Center Niles, serving Niles, welcomes walk-in patients without an appointment for STI screening. Federal qualification backs its sliding-scale fees, so a single visit can cover syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia testing with costs adjusted to your income.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Access Northwest Family Health Center in Arlington Heights carries federally qualified status, meaning its sliding-scale fees are structured around income: useful whether someone is between providers, uninsured, or simply paying out of pocket. STI screening here covers syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, with no appointment required.
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 Highwood, 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 Lake 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.
450 West Highway 22, Barrington, IL 60010
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
50 Lakeview Parkway, Suite 127, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
891 Stonegate Drive, Highland Park, IL 60035
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Highwood. 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, 5,120 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Highwood. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 2,047 offer telehealth.
Louise Berner-Holmberg, MD
Family medicine · 130 Washington Avenue, Highwood
Mary Jenkins Vogel, MD Telehealth
OB-GYN · 777 Park Avenue West, Highland Park
Chukwuemeka Enwezor, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 777 Park Avenue West, Highland Park
Steven Mutchnik, MD
Urology · 777 Park Avenue West, Highland Park
Craig Labbate, MD Telehealth
Urology · 767 Park Avenue West, Highland Park
Jeffrey Garland, MD
Internal medicine · 767 Park West Avenue, Highland Park
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 Highwood, IL 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.
0.3 mi 
1.3 mi SDG
1.9 miOsco Drug
2.2 miShowing the 4 closest pharmacies to Highwood, IL.
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 Highwood, 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 Lake County, the county that includes Highwood, compare with Illinois and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~28% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#26 of 102 Illinois counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 75% of the state
| Infection | Lake County | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 382.4 2,710 cases ▼ 31% | 557.7 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 75.3 534 cases ▼ 63% | 202.3 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 4.2 30 cases ▼ 64% | 11.6 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 4.1 29 cases ▼ 62% | 10.9 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 19.3 137 cases ▼ 26% | 26 | 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 Lake County, chlamydia has fallen from 419.4 to 382.4 per 100,000 (9%), gonorrhea has fallen from 95.2 to 75.3 per 100,000 (21%), and P&S syphilis has held roughly steady from 4.2 to 4.2 per 100,000.
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 Lake County.
Local HIV snapshot
Lake County HIV care continuum (2023)
Lake County recorded 6.8 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 14.7 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Lake County residents living with HIV, 79.5% are in care · 70.8% 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 Lake County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Along US 41, where the Skokie Valley Road pulls commuters through Highwood at the start and end of every shift, the cost of keeping a lease in this city quietly claims a disproportionate share of what renters, nearly six in ten residents, bring home each month. That's worth naming plainly, because the younger adults here (people in their late teens and twenties who statistically see the highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) are also the most likely to be renting, stretching paychecks, and skipping discretionary health visits when money feels tight. Highwood's households run large, averaging nearly four people, which means schedules pile up fast. With labor-force participation well above average and unemployment low, most adults here are working, and working regularly.
The options listed on this page vary in cost, hours, and distance precisely because no single schedule or budget fits everyone who lives between Danny Cunniff Park and the Highmoor blocks. Lake County's STI rates give residents a concrete reason to treat screening as a periodic habit rather than a reaction to symptoms. Finding a low-cost or no-cost option close to your route home on US 41 makes that far easier to act on before another busy month slips by.
Getting there
Highwood scores 15.4/20 on the EPA walkability index, so many trips are walkable or a short ride, though a car still gives you the widest choice of testing centers.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 60040 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 60040 area around Highwood: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Highwood alone.
Highwood sits in Lake County, ZIP 60040. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Highwood? 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 Lake County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Illinois 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 Highwood-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 Highwood 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 Illinois 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 Illinois, a minor aged 12 or older can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Illinois 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 IllinoisSource: 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 Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center (1.5 mi); 9 options are within 30 miles.
Public clinics are free; private labs ~$24–$139, at-home kits $49+.
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 382 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Illinois average.
Lab results typically come back in 1–2 days.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Illinois, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Medical records are protected under federal HIPAA law, ask the clinic how it handles your information.
HPV and hepatitis B vaccines prevent those infections, ask a provider if you're due.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.