Demand Rising for Monoclonal Antibody Therapy to Treat COVID-19 Patients
Medstar paramedics administer the treatments in patients’ homes. Go to https://www.medstarambulance.org/mab for more information.
Through partnerships with area health systems and physician groups, Medstar now provides in-home monoclonal antibody infusion treatments to reduce COVID-19 symptoms and the risk of hospitalization from the virus.
“Since the time these medications have become available, Medstar Mobile Health Paramedics have administered monoclonal antibody treatments, and recently the requests are doubling each day,” said Kolby Miller, Medstar CEO.
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, kidney disease, COPD, or diabetes can be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness and can benefit significantly from the treatment.
Upon receiving a physician referral, a Medstar paramedic goes to a patient’s residence and administers the IV therapy.
“Providing the treatment in a person’s home is more convenient for the patient and helps the entire community as keeping patients at home reduces the spread of the virus,” said Miller. “We’ve seen excellent outcomes from this therapy.”
The IV infusion takes 15-30 minutes, and the paramedic monitors the patient for an hour afterward.
“The pandemic has definitely created havoc within the healthcare systems in our region. However, it has necessitated changes that highlight the ability of EMS providers to deliver care and treatment procedures in the home previously only offered in hospitals and clinical settings,” Miller continued. “The administration of monoclonal antibodies in the home is another example of the integration of EMS providers into the new world integrated healthcare delivery. It is through this type of integration that we will improve the health status of the residents in the communities we serve. I believe the best way to treat critical emergencies also involves preventing them from happening in the first place.”
Last year, Medstar was the only EMS agency asked to staff Michigan’s COVID-19 field hospitals in Detroit and Novi with clinical teams on-site at each facility 24 hours per day providing emergency care for patients in the facilities. Medstar paramedics also assisted the Macomb County Health Department with testing assisted living residents for COVID-19 over the last year and served at COVID-19 vaccine clinics throughout the communities it serves.
Go to https://www.medstarambulance.org/mab for more information.
About Medstar
Medstar is Michigan’s largest 911 EMS and mobile healthcare provider, serving more than 190,000 patients annually throughout lower Michigan. Created in 1993 by two local hospitals committed to quality EMS, the nonprofit agency now serves communities in nine counties. It provides care, air medical, and interfacility clinical transportation for Ascension-Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, and the McLaren Healthcare Corporation. For more information, visit www.medstarambulance.org.
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Contact
Anne Hein
ahein@medstarambulance.org
586-980-1043
