MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis flight attendant, Joan Sullivan, is no stranger to taking precautions, but recently, she noticed something out of the ordinary.
"A little over a week ago, I hadn't been feeling well," Sullivan said. "And my partner is a flight paramedic," she added, "I was telling her I have not felt well all week, and I told her I don't know why I've been breaking out."
Thinking it may be monkeypox, Sullivan searched for answers online.
"I called my doctor and they didn't have appointments and told me to call MDH," she said. "Then I called the clinics that MDH recommended, and they had me leave a voice message to call back because they're busy," she said.
Sullivan says she decided to quarantine on her own and the following week, she was finally able to book an appointment and get tested through her health care provider. But she says the runaround didn't stop there.
"They at the time told me they needed MDH's permission to run the test," she said. "It's frustrating because it shouldn't be that hard to get a monkeypox test."
A previous MDH health advisory from July said, "Prior MDH approval for testing will no longer be required by health care providers," and went on to say, "potential cases of monkeypox must still be reported to MDH for follow-ups."
KARE 11's Charmaine Nero reached out to a spokesperson with Hennepin County Public Health, who says that anyone who has concerns about monkeypox and has lesions -- consisting of bumps, pimples and/or blisters -- can get tested at the Red Door Clinic.
Those test samples are then sent to the Minnesota Department of Health lab. The department also says there is no shortage of testing to its knowledge, and around a handful of tests are being done there each day.
They went on to acknowledge that the clinic is very busy with high call volumes, saying, "It is possible that some people are not getting through to us immediately, but everyone who calls does get a call back."
While Sullivan is now awaiting her results, she is continuing to share her medical concerns on TikTok, to help others spot the signs and symptoms.
"They can self advocate," she said. "It does look like monkeypox, I have looked into it; I need a test and I'm going to keep pushing."
A spokesperson with Hennepin County Public Health says they've added additional staff to increase phone triage capacity. They went on to say, "Additionally, more primary care clinics are now able to do testing for monkeypox. We encourage folks to see their primary care providers if they develop a rash (bumps, sores, or blisters) or are worried that they might have monkeypox or believe they have been exposed to it."
If you don't have a primary care provider, health officials urge the public to call the Red Door Clinic at 612-543-5555, option 3.
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