Sanford Health Laboratories
- Address
- 2100 Highland Way, Mitchell, SD 66.2 miles away
- Phone
- 605‑996‑0400
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Syphilis
- Herpes
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Rapid HIV
- Conventional HIV
Gonorrhea in Boyd County runs about 68% lower than the US average. If you've had a recent risk or just test regularly in Spencer, Nebraska, you have options. Some clinics take walk-ins for same-day testing, while labs and at-home kits let you plan around your own time. See what fits you best in the list below.
Available testing centers
No STD testing centers are located in Spencer, NE. The nearest, Sanford Health Laboratories, is about 66.2 miles away. At-home STD kits and online lab tests ship to your ZIP; compare private labs and at-home kits below.
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 66 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Spencer, 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 for simplicity & support
$89 & 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 Boyd 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.
401 South 5th Street, Lynch, NE 68746
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Spencer. 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, 20 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Spencer. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 3 offer telehealth.
Barbara Gutshall, MD
Internal medicine · 103 South Thayer Street, Spencer
Mary Lee Villanueva, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 730 Wilson Street, Butte
Maurice Chessmore, MD
Family medicine · 513 3rd Street Southwest, Wagner
Emma Bye, MD
OB-GYN · 111 Washington Avenue Northwest, Wagner
John Tubbs, MD
Family medicine · 418 East 5th Street, Atkinson
Samantha Sholes, MD
Family medicine · 405 West Pearl Street, Atkinson
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 Spencer, NE 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.
Wollman Andes Pharmacy
21 miWest Holt Pharmacy
28 miOneill Family Pharmacy
29 miShopko Stores Operating
29 miPrairie Pharmacy
36 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Spencer, NE.
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 Spencer, 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
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
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
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 Boyd County, the county that includes Spencer, compare with Nebraska and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~19% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#83 of 93 Nebraska counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 11% of the state
| Infection | Boyd County | Nebraska | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | — no data | 468.8 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 58 1 cases ▼ 50% | 115.5 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 10.4 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | — no data | 6 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | — no data | 21.7 | 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 Boyd County, chlamydia has fallen from 221 to 55.9 per 100,000 (75%), gonorrhea has held roughly steady from 58 to 58 per 100,000, and P&S syphilis has held roughly steady from 57.4 to 57.4 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 Boyd County.
Local HIV snapshot
Boyd County HIV care continuum (2023)
Boyd County recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 6 statewide and 13.7 nationally. 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 Boyd County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
South Thayer Street runs quiet most mornings, the kind of place where most residents have owned their homes for years and life moves at a pace that can make a trip to a clinic feel like a big production. Spencer sits deep in Boyd County, and that settled, rooted quality, with four in five households owning their homes and the overwhelming majority of adults married, shapes how health decisions get made here. Testing doesn't fit neatly into a life organized around work schedules, long drives on US 281, and a community where everyone knows their neighbor. That geography is the real variable. For younger adults still building their lives, people in their late twenties and early twenties who represent the years when STIs circulate most actively, the distance alone can turn a routine intention into a months-long delay.
Boyd County's STI picture makes that delay worth reconsidering. Cost is its own calculation. With typical rents well under six hundred dollars a month and most households nowhere near the high-earner tier, out-of-pocket fees matter. Residents without coverage should look closely at the fee structures listed on each clinic card, options on this page offer sliding-scale or no-cost testing that a modest household budget can actually absorb.
Getting there
At 6.43/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Spencer 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 68777 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 68777 area around Spencer: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Spencer alone.
Spencer sits in Boyd County, ZIP 68777. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Spencer? 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 Boyd County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Nebraska 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 Spencer-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 Spencer 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Nebraska 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 NebraskaSource: 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 Sanford Health Laboratories (66.2 mi).
Medicaid generally covers STD testing.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
In Nebraska, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 68777; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
That's a myth; STIs need sexual contact to spread, not surfaces.
Community health centers and family-planning clinics serve all patients, and many offer LGBTQ-affirming care, ask the site directly.
Public health clinics, family-planning clinics, and many school or campus health centers test teens and young adults, often free.
Yes, rapid finger-stick tests are very accurate after the window period; any reactive result is confirmed with a lab test.
HPV is checked through cervical screening (often with a Pap test); there's no routine HPV test for men.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.