St. Louis County reports about 16 syphilis cases per 100,000 residents. In Wellston, Missouri, different needs can determine your best choice for testing after a possible exposure or for routine care. Cost-effective public clinics, faster private labs, and convenient at-home kits each have tradeoffs. See options below.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Wellston, MO. The nearest, CareSTL Health, is about 1.3 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.
CareSTL Health in Saint Louis requires appointments, so visits run on schedule: covering gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV testing alongside same-visit bacterial treatment, family planning, and TB care, with fees on a sliding scale and Medicaid and Medicare both accepted.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Oct 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
Betty Jean Kerr Peoples Health Centers in Saint Louis tests for HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, treating bacterial infections on the same visit. By appointment, on a sliding scale, with every service available at no fee.
Betty Jean Kerr Peoples Health Centers covers the full cost of every service it provides (testing, treatment, vaccines, counseling) for anyone who walks through the door. Whether you're uninsured, paying cash, or simply between providers, there's no bill waiting at checkout.
Both PrEP and PEP are prescribed and managed directly at Betty Jean Kerr Peoples Health Centers, meaning a patient can establish ongoing HIV prevention care without coordinating across separate providers or waiting on an outside referral to clear.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
Adult Services, in Saint Louis, channels its federally qualified health center standing into real affordability: fees for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening adjust to each patient's income, and no appointment is needed to walk in and get tested.
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 1 mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Wellston, 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 range: couples & full panels
$79 & 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 St. Louis 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.
969 North Mason Road, Suite 200, Saint Louis, MO 63141
CMS-certified lab
17050 Baxter Rd Suite 110, Chesterfield, MO 63005
CMS-certified lab
9985 Lin Ferry Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63123
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Wellston. 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, 1,950 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Wellston. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 540 offer telehealth.
Leslie Mccrary-Etuk, MD
Family medicine · 5471 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, Saint Louis
Kaori Sakurai, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 700 Rosedale Avenue, Saint Louis
Fred Balis, MD
Internal medicine · 5701 Delmar Boulevard, Saint Louis
Jonathan Byrd, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 7212 Balson Avenue, Saint Louis
Svetha Chunduri, MD
Internal medicine · 324 De Baliviere Avenue, Saint Louis
Michael Spezia, DO
Family medicine · 23 North Oaks Plz, Saint Louis
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 Wellston, MO 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.
Carestl Health
1.3 mi
1.3 mi Betty Jean Kerr People's Health Centers
1.5 mi
1.6 mi St Louis Connectcare Dr Smiley Phcy
1.7 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Wellston, MO.
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 Wellston, 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
$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
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 St. Louis County, the county that includes Wellston, compare with Missouri and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~23% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#5 of 115 Missouri counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 96% of the state
| Infection | St. Louis County | Missouri | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 635.3 6,271 cases ▲ 27% | 498.6 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 294.7 2,909 cases ▲ 46% | 201.9 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 16 158 cases ▼ 26% | 21.5 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 10 99 cases ▼ 19% | 12.4 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 30 296 cases ▼ 11% | 33.8 | 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 St. Louis County, chlamydia has risen from 603.8 to 635.3 per 100,000 (5%), gonorrhea has fallen from 339.5 to 294.7 per 100,000 (13%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 15.5 to 16 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 St. Louis County.
Local HIV snapshot
Federal priority area: Missouri is one of the U.S. jurisdictions prioritized under the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative: targeted federal funding to expand local HIV testing, PrEP, and prevention.
St. Louis County HIV care continuum (2023)
St. Louis County recorded 14.7 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 10.6 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among St. Louis County residents living with HIV, 75.9% are in care · 65.4% 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 St. Louis County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Page Avenue cuts through a Wellston where households run large and nearly everyone rents, and where health decisions, like most decisions, tend to get made collectively, around a shared table rather than alone. With fewer than one in fourteen adults married, those households are built on extended family and close-knit arrangements, which shapes how people think about screening: it's rarely a purely private calculation. That economic reality matters here. Rent absorbs a real portion of what most households bring in, unemployment is substantial, and fewer than one in a hundred households clears six figures, so cost and scheduling both carry weight when someone considers getting tested.
St. Louis County's STI figures reflect patterns common to urban cores, and Wellston sits squarely in that context. Staying current on screening isn't an abstraction for someone renting on Kienlen Avenue or catching a bus from the Wells Goodfellow side of the city: it's a practical question of whether the nearest clinic fits the hours of someone whose household depends on their paycheck, and whether the county trend they're embedded in is one they have current information about.
Getting there
Wellston scores 14.34/20 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 63133 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 63133 area around Wellston: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Wellston alone.
Wellston sits in St. Louis County, ZIP 63133. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Wellston? 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 St. Louis County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Missouri 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 Wellston-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 Wellston 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 Missouri 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 Missouri, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Missouri 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 MissouriSource: 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.
Possibly, Pagedale, MO is close; compare it by distance against CareSTL Health.
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 635 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Missouri average.
In Missouri, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
Yes, partners should test and be treated together to avoid passing it back and forth.
You self-collect a sample at home, mail it in, and view results online, no clinic visit needed.
Likely yes, if you were past the window period; otherwise retest, and keep up routine screening with new partners.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.