Antibody infusion clinic closes in Ashland

The monoclonal antibody infusion clinic in Ashland — among the first in Oregon to treat patients with early COVID-19 infection — closed on Nov. 12. Patients needing antibody treatment will now be referred to the drive-thru clinic at Black Oak Medical Plaza for subcutaneous injections.

The drive-thru site provides the same therapy at a fraction of the time as the infusions and allows more patients to be treated per day. In the rare cases a patient may need an infusion, they will be administered at ARRMC’s Emergency Department.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens, such as viruses like SARS-CoV-2. The therapy helps prevent mild to moderate COVID-19 infections from worsening.

The infusion clinic in Ashland opened in January shortly after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for antibody treatment. APP opened the injection site at Black Oak in September.

“I want to thank Dr. Lee Shapley [former vice president of Medical Affairs at AACH] and Steve Archer, ARRMC’s manager of Infusion Services, for quickly establishing the MAB site in Ashland,” said Kristi Blackhurst, vice president of Operations for ARRMC and AACH. “And many thanks to Doug Ward, Cassy Leach and Dr. Sue Hagar for developing the injection site at Black Oak. These teams provided an incredible service to our community during the pandemic.”

Patients still need a provider’s order to receive monoclonal antibody treatment and must meet certain clinical criteria for referral.