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Miles Griffis \/ The Sick Times<\/p>\nThe clinic sought to cure \u201cneuroimmune disorders\u201d like Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Former patients feel betrayed.<\/p>\n
Miles Griffis \/ The Sick Times<\/p>\n
Key points you should know:<\/p>\n
Utah\u2019s Metrodora Institute is a prominent example of clinics specializing in infection-associated chronic conditions, including Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), that have closed in the past year.
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Former patients of Metrodora, a clinic that promised treatment for complex conditions including ME, allege that they paid high cash prices for substandard care and that test results were never processed or delivered. They also alleged physical and financial harm.
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Poor experiences with specialty clinics and providers have caused some patients to put further care on hold.
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Medical clinic closures impact research into Long COVID biomarkers, treatments, and care, as many healthcare facilities serve as sites for drug trials.
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The Metrodora Institute\u2019s nonprofit arm, the Complex Disorders Alliance (CODA), formerly known as the Metrodora Foundation, continues to operate independently.<\/p>\n
In summer 2023, a new medical clinic and research center called the Metrodora Institute opened in West Valley City, Utah. Cofounded by former Instacart CEO Fidji Simo and scientists Laura Pace and James Hemp, it was highly anticipated<\/a> by people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)<\/a> and Long COVID<\/a>. The facility promised individualized treatment plans created collaboratively by top-rated specialists and eventual cures to complex diseases, especially those impacting women.<\/p>\n Former Metrodora patients began reaching out to The Sick Times in February 2025 after many of its star specialists, including Pace and immunologist Anne Maitland, left the facility. Many of Maitland\u2019s patients had followed her to Metrodora, and some of the clinic\u2019s earliest patients say they spent five-figure amounts to travel to Metrodora for expensive tests that were never processed. They also say they never received the comprehensive care they were promised.<\/p>\n Then, in July 2025, the clinic closed after just over two years in operation.<\/p>\n Long COVID clinics in the U.S<\/a>. and globally<\/a> have been closing at a concerning pace<\/a> for the past year. To patients, every closure can feel like part of an alarming pattern as specialist support becomes even harder to access. Former patients of Metrodora noted that clinic closures of this magnitude lead not only to disrupted care but also to uncertainties around clinical trials conducted at the facilities and the wide array of personal information donated to research projects such as biobanks. Sources for this piece expressed exasperation in trying to get answers about referrals and struggles to retrieve their medical files.<\/p>\n Reporting this story spanned more than nine months and began before Metrodora announced its sudden closure and subsequently scrubbed assets from the internet. It included lengthy interviews with former patients and in-depth reviews of their medical records. Attempts to reach founders and former staff took additional time but yielded little clarity. Emails sent to Metrodora about its imminent closure in summer 2025 were not acknowledged.<\/p>\n One consequence of relatively abrupt closures like Metrodora\u2019s is that individuals living with complex conditions experience disruptions to their care, which can have knock-on effects in terms of maintaining baselines and general symptom management. Some say that when a clinic closes or a specialist has disrupted service<\/a>, they, as patients, simply stop seeking treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting a magic pill or cure out of the sphere of reality,\u201d historian and former Metrodora patient Jennifer Stitt told The Sick Times in an interview. For over a decade, Stitt has lived with conditions including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)<\/a>, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)<\/a>, and Sj\u00f6gren\u2019s disease, all of which sidelined her academic career. She followed Maitland, already one of her physicians and whom she credits with providing \u201clifesaving care,\u201d when Maitland was recruited to work at Metrodora. Stitt continued to see Maitland there, but she says she never received any additional treatment plans to augment existing care.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping for a group of doctors who knew about my illnesses and could come up with ideas,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I got was a lot of medical trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n Following Metrodora\u2019s closure, its nonprofit funding arm, CODA, the Complex Disorders Alliance (formerly the Metrodora Foundation), is still in operation. Additionally, former Metrodora Institute executives and staff, including Simo and Rohit Gupta, have started a new venture called ChronicleBio, which claims to be operating a biobank and using artificial intelligence to find cures for complex conditions. (None of these organizations are affiliated with the similarly named Metrodora Ventures, Chelsea Clinton\u2019s venture capital firm that funds early-stage health companies.) The name Metrodora comes from an ancient Greek physician and the likely author of the late 10th century manuscript On the Diseases and Cures of Women. All seven members of the Metrodora Institute\u2019s scientific advisory board<\/a> were men.<\/p>\n I was hoping for a group of doctors who knew about my illnesses and could come up with ideas. What I got was a lot of medical trauma.<\/p>\n Jennifer Stitt, former Metrodora patient<\/p>\n Seeking care, encountering chaos<\/p>\n Communicating with staff and paying for care at Metrodora was a chaotic process, according to several sources. Former patients described a lack of follow-up on appointments and no coordination with insurance providers. They shared that these ongoing issues exacerbated the very energy-limiting conditions for which they were seeking care.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rachel Graves, who lives in Tacoma, Washington, and is another former patient at Metrodora, said that getting her test results and other follow-up information \u201crequired every ounce of energy I had.\u201d She added, \u201cI had to call and message constantly and even go to the patient advocate [on staff] to get any kind of response. Then they had me fly back for more testing and appointments, and [Laura] Pace canceled her appointment with me at the last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point, Graves was contacted by a third-party collections agency for unpaid bills. She\u2019d paid Metrodora cash for a test, and Metrodora never reimbursed the lab. \u201cThey did eventually get it straightened out, but many spoons<\/a> were expended,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Graves described that at first, staff members were friendly and educated about how to care for patients with complex conditions, a rarity among general providers and even specialists<\/a> focused on infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you walk out the door, and they forget you exist,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery other Metrodora patient I\u2019ve communicated with has said this same thing. You think you finally have found the place where they\u2019ll just take care of you without you fighting for every second of a doctor\u2019s attention, and once you leave, you realize it was all a mirage.\u201d<\/p>\n For Anna Reynolds, another former patient, traveling from her home in Birmingham, Alabama, to Utah for care resulted in serious harm. Reynolds lives with complex conditions, including EDS and severe gastrointestinal issues. She says after a \u201charrowing\u201d procedure at Metrodora went wrong, her bladder was in danger of rupturing. EMTs were called, and she was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Reynolds says she spent over a year fighting for reimbursement and reduction to bills for procedures she didn\u2019t authorize and that resulted in harm.<\/p>\n To Reynolds, the center took advantage of a desperate group of patients with no accountability. \u201cThey scared me so much,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then they abandoned me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A former Metrodora employee, who requested anonymity due to a gag clause in their severance contract, said Metrodora was unusual \u201cbecause it was such a good idea.\u201d They called the facility \u201camazing,\u201d adding that working there and learning from their coworkers and patients was a rewarding, informative experience. But they noted that the insurance reimbursements they saw didn\u2019t break even. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t enough to make us thrive,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Emails from The Sick Times to ChronicleBio were not acknowledged. Metrodora co-founders Laura Pace and James Hemp initially agreed to speak with The Sick Times; they asked for interview questions in advance of a phone call and cited nondisclosure agreements in effect until 2028. But subsequently, they stopped answering emails and were not available for comment.<\/p>\n A former Metrodora employee called the facility \u201camazing,\u201d adding that working there and learning from their coworkers and patients was a rewarding, informative experience. But they noted that the insurance reimbursements they saw didn\u2019t break even.<\/p>\n Suspending treatment after clinic closure<\/p>\n Metrodora isn\u2019t the only example of a specialty facility bending and breaking under the weight of high expectations and early operational issues \u2014 though for former patients and at least one former staffer, it may be one of the starkest collapses.<\/p>\n In the past few years, clinics specializing in IACCs have struggled to secure funding or remain open. The same summer Metrodora shuttered, several prominent centers closed due to funding cuts and staffing changes, including the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill\u2019s COVID Recovery Clinic<\/a> and St. Louis, Missouri\u2019s Washington University Long COVID Clinic<\/a>, where a stopgap program was established<\/a> after patient pushback<\/a>. And some prominent specialists treating IACCs have stopped accepting insurance coverage and raised rates<\/a>, impacting patient care and research.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the U.K., fewer than half of the existing Long COVID clinics remained open beyond <\/a>2025. In Australia, the first dedicated Long COVID clinic in New South Wales closed in September<\/a>, after three and a half years serving patients who could make it to Sydney. Clinic closures disrupt care plans and can impact patients\u2019 ability to seek similar treatment elsewhere. They also leave a void for people who continue to develop Long COVID as COVID-19 spreads unchecked<\/a>.<\/p>\n Metrodora\u2019s closure also may have impacted supplies for other healthcare providers in the Western U.S. For example, Metrodora purchased many SmartPills<\/a>, proprietary capsules used for ingestible diagnostic tests, said Kira Stoops, a Bozeman, Montana\u2013based communications consultant who has lived with ME for many years. This left former Metrodora patients like her out of luck in pursuing specialized assessments with other providers.<\/p>\n Some former patients left testimonials across various platforms including Google Reviews and Reddit forums<\/a>, warning others of their poor experiences at Metrodora. The Sick Times has covered how patient-led provider directories<\/a> help individuals share experiences with specific clinics, specialists, and treatments in a dedicated space. Patient experiences can vary widely, so while reviews can warn about individual encounters and issues, it can be hard to know how one\u2019s needs may be met or unaddressed by specific providers and facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stitt says that she\u2019s so burned out and exhausted that she\u2019s slowed down seeking care. \u201cI haven\u2019t given up, but I\u2019ve hit pause,\u201d she said, noting that she spent so much money at Metrodora, she can\u2019t afford to continue seeing specialist Anne Maitland as much as she needs.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t given up, but I\u2019ve hit pause,\u201d Stitt said, noting that she spent so much money at Metrodora, she can\u2019t afford to continue seeing specialist Anne Maitland as much as she needs.<\/p>\n Research deferred<\/p>\n Closures also disrupt research studies. Metrodora was one of eight sites for patients in the abruptly cancelled Vyvgart (efgartigimod) trial. Trial participants with Long COVID and POTS recently urged medical and pharmaceutical institutions to launch another trial of the drug<\/a>, which they said showed promising results for many in the study.<\/p>\n Metrodora founders made bold pronouncements<\/a> about sharing patient data with researchers to unlock treatments and cures. Additionally, Metrodora advertised operating a biobank, which several patients allege either wasn\u2019t yet viable or never existed. One Long COVID advocate who participated in Metrodora\u2019s genetics study<\/a> told The Sick Times in October 2025 that ChronicleBio representatives said they are still processing genetic samples with no specific deadline.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what may happen to data from former Metrodora patients or whether it holds any research potential. CODA did not respond to interview requests. On its website<\/a>, the foundation lists projects including studying cranio-cervical instability<\/a>, big data analysis with AI, and fellowships at \u201cleading medical institutions.\u201d However, it only lists one scientific publication: a 2025 journal article with nine coauthors, including CODA CEO Amy Rochlin and Gupta, a ChronicleBio co-founder.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dream was never possible\u201d<\/p>\n Without answers from founders or institutions, clinic closures, including the abrupt closing of Metrodora, have left many of the sources for this story feeling perplexed, defeated, and outraged.<\/p>\n Individuals interviewed for this story expressed concern that due to the dysfunction they experienced as patients, potential investors won\u2019t view a model like Metrodora\u2019s, which housed research and care in one venture capital\u2013backed facility, as viable. Research into IACCs and related care initiatives could benefit from major funding infusions. The U.S. government has provided grants to a dozen multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics<\/a>, but this program is relatively limited compared to the significant need of tens of millions of Americans with the disease.<\/p>\n Despite deep frustrations with the lack of care and overt harm experienced at the Metrodora clinic, patients still hope for a comprehensive institute to take its place and adequately address their complex needs.<\/p>\n Kira Stoops has found that while many specialists understand their patients\u2019 conditions, too many build up hope for families seeking answers and treatments that simply don\u2019t exist. There aren\u2019t any widely accepted biomarkers for ME; there isn\u2019t a single drug approved to treat it. Many patients are in a cycle of seeking help, feeling grateful to be heard, and benefitting from small improvements like a new diagnosis or medication to slightly improve quality of life \u2014 and yet they still can\u2019t return to work or their previous lives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for incremental changes because that\u2019s what we can get,\u201d Stoops said. \u201cBut that isn\u2019t how practices [like Metrodora] are being marketed.\u201d<\/p>\n The former Metrodora employee said they learned a lot from their underserved patients, and that for a while, the institute offered a beacon of hope. \u201cI really wish it would\u2019ve worked out,\u201d they said. \u201cIts presence and the idea of it will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n