MOUNT GILEAD — Morrow County Hospital is now offering Specialty Infusion services at the hospital.
They will be used solely for COVID-19 infusion of FDA emergency use authorized monoclonal antibodies treatments, targeting patients with mild to moderate forms of COVID-19 in high-risk patients. These patients must meet very specific criteria for the treatment, then a provider connects them with teams to perform the infusion in the infusion center.
A physician referral is required to receive the treatment.
“As we continue to combat the rapid and rising spread of COVID-19 within Morrow County, monoclonal antibody infusion has the potential to keep high-risk individuals with COVID-19 out of the hospital,” said Holly Trainer, RPh, pharmacy manager, Morrow County Hospital.
“We also ask the communities we serve to continue to do the things we know to be effective to help slow the spread of COVID-19: wear a mask over the mouth and nose, avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, and wash your hands frequently. We all have to work together to keep each other and our community safe.”
The infusion treatment involves giving monoclonal antibodies as a single dose via IV administration. The treatment decreases a patient’s viral load that may lower the chance of disease progression and hospitalization according to published studies.
If given early, this therapy can be an important treatment to help keep high-risk individuals with COVID-19 out of the hospital. The infusion process takes about three hours — an hour for set up, an hour for the transfusion and an hour for observation.
“We know that this treatment is generally well tolerated by patients; having the ability to do this in an outpatient setting, keeping these patients out of the hospital, and easing the load for our frontline hospital staff will be ultimately better for them, and the patient,” added Trainer.
