New HIV diagnoses in Blount County run about 64% lower than the US average. Whether you're in Townsend, Tennessee looking to test before starting a new relationship or as part of ongoing care, you have options to consider, each with different trade-offs. Public clinics keep costs down, private labs prioritize speed, and at-home kits trade a clinic visit for convenience. Look below for details.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Townsend, TN. The nearest, Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, is about 12.8 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.
Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic in Gatlinburg requires an appointment and tests for gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, and HIV on a sliding-scale fee. Bacterial infections can be treated the same visit, and family planning is available alongside STI care.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Tennessee Department of Health in Maryville requires an appointment, and that single visit covers HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB testing: with same-visit treatment for bacterial STIs, sliding-scale fees across the board, and every test offered at no charge.
Tennessee Department of Health in Maryville runs every service (testing, treatment, vaccines, PrEP) at no fee. For anyone without insurance, between providers, or simply paying out of pocket, that means nothing is rationed by what the visit might cost at checkout.
Tennessee Department of Health in Maryville prescribes PrEP, PEP, and DoxyPEP, which means patients who need ongoing HIV prevention and those managing post-exposure bacterial STI risk can establish and maintain both regimens without splitting care across multiple providers.
Plenty of clinics can tell you whether hepatitis C antibodies are present and send you elsewhere to act on that result. Tennessee Department of Health in Maryville treats hepatitis C on-site, so a confirmed diagnosis leads directly to a treatment plan rather than a separate referral process.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Nov 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
River Valley Health in Seymour tests for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, TB, and all three hepatitis strains on a sliding-scale fee open to everyone, with walk-ins welcome and same-visit treatment available for bacterial infections.
River Valley Health carries hepatitis C treatment directly alongside diagnosis, meaning the clinical relationship that catches a positive result is the same one that prescribes and manages antiviral therapy. Hepatitis B treatment runs the same way, keeping a patient's entire viral hepatitis care consolidated at one provider rather than spread across separate specialists.
Without in-house PrEP and PEP prescribing, prevention falls apart at the referral. Another provider, another wait, another intake. River Valley Health prescribes and manages both, including PrEP coverage for uninsured patients, so the gap between risk assessment and an active prescription doesn't open at all.
River Valley Health in Seymour provides interpretation services for non-English languages as part of the clinical encounter itself, not as an afterthought. That means the conversation about exposure history, treatment options, and medication adherence counseling happens through a supported interpreter, not across a language gap that gets glossed over.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jul 2025 · 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 13 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Townsend, 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 range: couples & full panels
$79 & 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 Blount 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.
907 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
133 Associates Boulevard, Alcoa, TN 37701
CMS-certified lab
Showing the nearest 2 CLIA-certified labs.
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Townsend. 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, 674 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Townsend. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 153 offer telehealth.
Andrew Smith
Family medicine · 2217 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville
Fred Foshee, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 2036 Chilhowee Medical Park, Maryville
Kevin Turner, MD
Family medicine · 1702 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville
Eric Redmon, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 252 Cherokee Professional Park, Maryville
Nancy Garza, MD
OB-GYN · 250 Cherokee Professional Park, Maryville
John Kriese, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 907 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville
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 Townsend, TN 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.
Mac's Pharmacy
0.7 miMacs Pharmacy Townsend
0.9 mi
12 mi 
13 mi 
13 mi K VA T Food Stores
13 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Townsend, TN.
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 Townsend, 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.
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
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
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
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 Blount County, the county that includes Townsend, compare with Tennessee and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~25% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#64 of 95 Tennessee counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 33% of the state
| Infection | Blount County | Tennessee | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 213.5 302 cases ▼ 59% | 517.4 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 58 82 cases ▼ 69% | 186.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 4.2 6 cases ▼ 72% | 14.8 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 6.4 9 cases ▼ 44% | 11.5 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 9.9 14 cases ▼ 62% | 26.4 | 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 Blount County, chlamydia has fallen from 341.5 to 213.5 per 100,000 (37%), gonorrhea has fallen from 99.8 to 58 per 100,000 (42%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 0.7 to 4.2 per 100,000 (500%).
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 Blount County.
Local HIV snapshot
Blount County HIV care continuum (2023)
Blount County recorded 4.9 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 14.8 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Blount County residents living with HIV, 78.9% are in care · 73.2% 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 Blount County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Townsend sits where the foothills begin to rise, and people here move between the quieter stretches along Wears Valley Road and the busier corridor toward Gatlinburg. That geography shapes how residents approach health care, some travel to nearby clinics, others use services closer to home. STI testing is available in and around Townsend through providers listed on this page, and the process itself remains straightforward: confidential appointments, results that stay between you and your clinician, no surprises shared with employers or family. The confidentiality matters especially for young adults in the area who are establishing themselves, whether that means starting work, pursuing education, or simply navigating relationships without unnecessary complications.
Testing clinics in the region understand that screening isn't complicated, it's routine health maintenance. Walk-in hours and scheduled appointments both exist; some locations offer rapid results. Insurance is accepted at most sites, and uninsured patients can ask about sliding-scale fees. The question isn't whether to get tested; it's which location fits your schedule and comfort level.
Routine screening catches infections early, when treatment is straightforward and side effects are minimal. For anyone sexually active, screening every year, or more often depending on your situation, is standard medical guidance. Townsend's testing sites are equipped to answer questions, perform the screening, and connect you to follow-up care if needed.
Getting there
At 4.92/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Townsend 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 37882 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 37882 area around Townsend: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Townsend alone.
Townsend sits in Blount County, ZIP 37882. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Townsend? 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 Blount County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Tennessee 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 Townsend-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 Townsend 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Tennessee 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 TennesseeSource: 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 Townsend, TN.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Public clinics nearby offer free HIV testing.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 214 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Tennessee average.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 37882; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Tennessee, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Lab results typically come back in 1–2 days.
Yes, HSV-1 from the mouth can spread to the genital area through oral sex.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.