New HIV diagnoses in San Patricio County run about 15% higher than the US average. Whether you have symptoms or just want peace of mind in Taft Southwest, Texas, how do you find local testing? Clinics may bill insurance or use sliding-scale fees to cover tests including HIV; private labs commonly charge a flat self-pay price, which can simplify billing. Your options are listed below.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Taft Southwest, TX. The nearest, Community Action Pediatric Center Sinton, is about 7.2 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.
Community Action Pediatric Center Sinton, in Sinton, earned its federally qualified 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
Community Action Corporation of South Texas in Sinton runs on sliding-scale fees open to everyone, accepts Medicaid and private insurance, and tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV alongside TB screening: with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines on hand. Appointments required.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
South Texas Family Planning and Health in Sinton weaves family planning infrastructure into its STI care, offering the full standard panel, same-visit bacterial treatment, and HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines. All on a sliding scale, with walk-in access, at no fee to every patient.
Sliding-scale pricing usually means some patients pay and some don't. At South Texas Family Planning and Health, the scale bottoms out for everyone (testing, treatment, vaccines, counseling) none of it generates a charge, regardless of what a patient brings through the door.
When language services are patched in after the fact, the clinical conversation suffers: nuance gets lost, follow-up questions go unasked, and care stalls. South Texas Family Planning and Health delivers services directly in Spanish, with interpretation available for other languages, so nothing about a patient's care is filtered or delayed by a language gap.
The standard four-infection screen leaves hepatitis off the table entirely. South Texas Family Planning and Health tests for hepatitis A, B, and C in addition to gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV, so a single visit can surface infections that a narrower panel would simply miss.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
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 7 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Taft Southwest, 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 San Patricio 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.
1830 Billy G Webb Drive, Portland, TX 78374
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
1860 Hwy Frontage Road, Suite C, Portland, TX 78374
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
1702 Highway 181 North Suite A-11, Portland, TX 78374
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Taft Southwest. 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, 276 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Taft Southwest. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 46 offer telehealth.
Linda Lowe Echevarria, DO
Family medicine · 2413 Memorial Parkway, Portland
Angela Pardo, MD
Internal medicine · 311 Buddy Ganem Drive, Portland
Darryl Collins, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 213 Cedar Drive, Portland
Pedro Calzada, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 203 Cedar Drive, Portland
Charles Gregory, DO
Family medicine · 1500 Wildcat Drive, Portland
Joseph Puente, MD
Family medicine · 209 East Market Street, Sinton
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 Taft Southwest, TX 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.
Shoreline Pharmacy 2
1.1 mi
7.8 mi 
7.8 mi Moore's Pharmacy
7.9 miShowing the 4 closest pharmacies to Taft Southwest, TX.
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 Taft Southwest, 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
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 San Patricio County, the county that includes Taft Southwest, compare with Texas and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~21% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#64 of 254 Texas counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 75% of the state
| Infection | San Patricio County | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 409 289 cases ▼ 17% | 491.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 120.3 85 cases ▼ 32% | 176.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 12.7 9 cases ▼ 15% | 15 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 8.5 6 cases ▼ 68% | 26.4 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 35.4 25 cases ▼ 20% | 44.3 | 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 San Patricio County, chlamydia has fallen from 487.2 to 409 per 100,000 (16%), gonorrhea has fallen from 173.1 to 120.3 per 100,000 (31%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 13.1 to 12.7 per 100,000 (3%).
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 San Patricio County.
Local HIV snapshot
San Patricio County HIV care continuum (2022)
San Patricio County recorded 15.7 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2022), against 20.2 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among San Patricio County residents living with HIV, 82.9% are in care · 75.6% 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 San Patricio County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Taft Southwest runs on the rhythms of oil and agriculture: shift work, seasonal crews, the kind of employment that draws people in and keeps them rooted. Many who settle here own their homes outright, while others live in extended family arrangements or alone; the town holds all those patterns without judgment. That stability matters when it comes to health decisions, because people tend to stay, and they value their privacy in a place where they've built something lasting. STI testing in and around Taft Southwest serves residents across every household type and life stage.
The clinics listed on this page understand that young adults (whether they're new to the area, established here, or passing through for work) need straightforward access to confidential screening without fanfare or delay. Results are sealed to the individual; the process itself leaves no trace in casual conversation. What sets testing here apart is the recognition that long-term residents and transient workers alike deserve the same care and discretion. Whether someone's been in Taft Southwest for decades or just arrived, the health services available maintain the same boundary between a person's testing decisions and their public life in the community.
Getting there
At 7.39/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Taft Southwest 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 78390 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 78390 area around Taft Southwest: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Taft Southwest alone.
Taft Southwest sits in San Patricio County, ZIP 78390. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Taft Southwest? 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 San Patricio County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Texas 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 Taft Southwest-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 Taft Southwest 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 Texas 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 Texas, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Texas 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 TexasSource: 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.
7 testing options are within 30 miles of Taft Southwest, TX.
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 409 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Texas average.
In Texas, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Lab results typically come back in 1–2 days.
Likely yes, if you were past the window period; otherwise retest, and keep up routine screening with new partners.
A urine sample or a swab (genital, throat, or rectal) detects gonorrhea, often tested alongside chlamydia.
Start treatment, tell recent partners so they can test, avoid sex until cleared, and retest if advised, most STIs resolve with care.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.