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in New Brunswick, New Jersey, created a specialized COVID-19 Recovery Program to treat patients who have recovered from COVID-19 but continue to experience long-term symptoms, such as shortness of breath, digestive problems and fatigue.

According to a , one-third of COVID-19 patients who aren't hospitalized struggle with long-term illness, such as a cough and lack of energy. They call themselves "long haulers." Their symptoms can vary in intensity and duration. And it’s affecting not only older patients but also teens and young adults.

Saint Peter’s COVID-19 Recovery Program serves as a community-based support system and resource by providing expert medical care to COVID-19 patients as they deal with persistent symptoms. The program offers care to patients who were treated for COVID-19 at Saint Peter’s or another hospital, and to individuals who tested positive and recovered at home. The goal is to leverage Saint Peter’s clinical expertise and partnership with community physicians and specialists to manage these patients’ unique needs. Health care specialists participating in the patient recovery program include pulmonologists, cardiologists, neurologists and others, depending on the individual health issues.

The hospital also is using the program to collect as much data as it can to further study the mysterious virus with still so many unknowns.

Nilam Srivastava, M.D., chief, division of internal medicine, at Saint Peter’s, said in a statement, “We are collecting data to gain a better understanding of the disease overall and its long-term effects. This data will support our outreach efforts to not only better serve at-risk individuals but to educate them on warning signs.”

Read more about Saint Peter's University Hospital .