Yadkin County Emergency Services has announced it is now offering Monoclonal Antibody Treatment for COVID-19 across the county. Early evidence suggests that for qualifying patients, Monoclonal Antibody Treatment may reduce the severity of symptoms shown and prevent potential hospitalizations.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Monoclonal Antibody Treatment may help individuals who:
• have tested positive for COVID-19 and had symptoms for 10 days or less
• those who are at a high risk of getting more serious symptoms
This treatment has been highly sought after and usually only provided to patients in an office or hospital setting.
Yadkin County will utilize its award-winning COVID Paramedic program to serve citizens in need of this treatment. The COVID Paramedic Program offers highly trained EMS paramedics to administer the treatment in the field at a citizen’s residence.
“Without a hospital in Yadkin County, the Board is always looking for innovative ways to protect the health of our citizens,” said Kevin Austin, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. “While other counties may have community paramedics, Yadkin County was the first to designate a paramedic 100% to conducting home visits with our citizens who have tested positive for COVID. The program has been a tremendous success and has saved lives.”
Upon referral to the program, an examination of the patient early on will allow faster analysis of COVID-19 symptoms, accurate analysis of the progression of the virus, and a more accurate determination if the patient would be a candidate for Monoclonal Antibody Treatment. Assistant Director of Emergency Services, Chris Bolden, said he expects that citizens will greatly benefit from this service.
“We feel like this will be a major benefit to all of our residents including some of our homebound residents who may need the treatment. Instead of having to go through all the trouble to find a location for these treatments, and all the stress of travel, Yadkin County EMS will instead be able to go in their home and deliver this therapy,” Bolden explained.
Yadkin County Emergency Services is one of a few organizations in North Carolina approved to administer Monoclonal Antibody Treatment in this manner.
“While other EMS agencies have developed a relationship with other healthcare providers, this program is unique in that the entire responsibility of Monoclonal Antibody administration is being handled by an EMS agency’s COVID Paramedic program. This is the future of EMS and medicine and we’re excited that Yadkin County is on the forefront of it,” Bolden said.
There is hope that those who are eligible for Monoclonal Antibody Treatment will be able to utilize the innovative and effective method which Yadkin County has implemented to assist with their COVID-19 recovery.
For more information call 336-849-7902.