Reported chlamydia in Cottonwood County runs about 73% lower than the US average. If you've had a recent risk or simply test on a regular schedule in Windom, Minnesota, weigh cost, speed, and convenience from the options below.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Windom, MN. The nearest, Access Health - Windom, is about 0.4 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.
Access Health - Windom welcomes patients without an appointment, so a single walk-in visit can cover syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening under one sliding-scale fee tied to income. Federal FQHC designation keeps those costs on a graduated scale for anyone who needs it.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 10 miles from Windom. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Sanford Health in Westbrook tests for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB, with fees sliding by income and Medicaid and Medicare both accepted. Appointments are required; bacterial STIs are treated same visit, and HIV and hepatitis are managed on-site.
Screening that stops at the four core STIs leaves hepatitis entirely off the table: Sanford Health in Westbrook runs hepatitis A, B, and C testing alongside the standard panel, so a single visit captures infections that a narrower clinic would miss entirely.
Sanford Health in Westbrook holds the full hepatitis C care pathway, from testing through treatment, on-site. For someone without a specialist lined up or paying out of pocket, having the medication accessible at the same practice that ordered the test cuts out an otherwise complicated extra step.
Sanford Health in Westbrook prescribes both PrEP and PEP directly, and pairs those prescriptions with medication adherence counseling. Meaning the support to stay on schedule is built into the same appointment rather than left to the patient to seek elsewhere.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Sep 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
Access Health-Fulda, in Fulda, earned its federally qualified designation by committing to serve patients regardless of ability to pay. Including those paying cash or without coverage. Sliding-scale fees make syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening reachable, and no appointment is needed to get started.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Access Health - Worthington carries federal health center status that locks in sliding-scale fees tied to income, making STI screening (syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia) reachable for cash-paying patients, the uninsured, and anyone caught between providers who still needs care without a fixed appointment.
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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Windom, 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 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 Cottonwood 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.
2150 Hospital Drive, Windom, MN 56101
CMS-certified lab
2020 Hospital Dr Suite 1, Windom, MN 56101
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
Showing the nearest 2 CLIA-certified labs.
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Windom. 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, 63 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Windom. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 5 offer telehealth.
Kylie Cowdin, MD
Family medicine · 2020 Hospital Drive, Windom
Stephanie Buhler, MD
Family medicine · 2150 Hospital Drive, Windom
David Springer, MD
Family medicine · 2150 Hospital Drive, Windom
Jeffrey Taber, MD
Family medicine · 2170 Hospital Drive, Windom
James Hinshaw, MD
OB-GYN · 2150 Hospital Drive, Windom
Andrew Kopperud, MD
Internal medicine · 308 8th Street North, Mountain Lake
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 Windom, MN 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.
Hy-Vee Pharmacy(1892)
0.6 miShopko Pharmacy 750
0.6 miRetail Lewis Family Drug
0.8 miPeterson Pharmacy & Gifts
11 miThrifty White
11 miThrondset Pharmacy
14 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Windom, MN.
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 Windom, 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.
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
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 Cottonwood County, the county that includes Windom, compare with Minnesota 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.
#77 of 87 Minnesota counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 11% of the state
| Infection | Cottonwood County | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 132.5 15 cases ▼ 65% | 379.5 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 17.7 2 cases ▼ 87% | 134.5 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 8.7 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | — no data | 6.7 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | — no data | 14.7 | 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 Cottonwood County, chlamydia has fallen from 225.8 to 132.5 per 100,000 (41%), and gonorrhea has fallen from 78.1 to 17.7 per 100,000 (77%).
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 Cottonwood County.
Local HIV snapshot
Cottonwood County HIV care continuum (2023)
Cottonwood County recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 6.7 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Cottonwood County residents living with HIV, 90% are in care · 70% 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 Cottonwood County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
State Highway 60 cuts through the core of Windom with the unhurried pace of a town where three-quarters of residents own their homes and typical rent runs well below what most Minnesota renters know anywhere else. That stability is real, but it also means fewer of the transient anchor points (a walk-in clinic downstairs, a pharmacy on the corner) that denser places take for granted. That reality lands differently for younger adults still forming relationships, who represent a meaningful slice of Windom's population and carry the years when STI rates run highest. For someone working one of the jobs that keeps Cottonwood County's labor force moving, scheduling around clinic hours is a genuine logistical puzzle.
Not an inconvenience but an actual calendar constraint. The options listed on this page serve the in-and-around Windom area, and knowing which ones offer extended hours or sliding-scale fees before you drive out on MN 60 saves a wasted trip. With more than half of Windom's adults in married or partnered households and average household sizes above two, routine screening isn't only a personal choice: it's something couples and families navigate together, which makes low-cost, straightforward access near Abby Park and the broader community worth knowing about now, not later.
Getting there
At 5.73/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Windom 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 56101 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 56101 area around Windom: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Windom alone.
Windom sits in Cottonwood County, ZIP 56101. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Windom? 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 Cottonwood County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Minnesota 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 Windom-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 Windom 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Minnesota 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 MinnesotaSource: 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, Mountain Lake, MN is close; compare it by distance against Access Health - Windom.
Most plans cover STD screening; a clinic or lab can bill insurance, or you can pay a flat self-pay price.
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 133 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Minnesota average.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Minnesota, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 56101; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
It's reassuring, but if you tested early in the window period, retest a few weeks later to be sure.
Medical records are protected under federal HIPAA law, ask the clinic how it handles your information.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.