St. Luke’s University Health Network has established one of Pennsylvania’s first outpatient COVID-19 treatment programs, a monoclonal antibody infusion center at St. Luke’s Easton Campus.

The Easton Campus Infusion Center, which welcomed its first three patients Nov. 23, provides patients with bamlanivimab, an experimental drug developed by Eli Lilly that is similar to a product President Donald Trump received after contracting the coronavirus.

A second infusion center is to open the week of Nov. 29 at St. Luke’s Warren Campus, Phillipsburg, N.J.

“St. Luke’s is pleased to be collaborating with Pennsylvania and New Jersey health departments to advance this important COVID-19 treatment,” says infectious disease specialist Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, St. Luke’s Chief Medical Officer.

“This approach will help our hospitals avoid being overwhelmed during the current surge as certain high-risk patients who receive bamlanivimab recover in the comfort of their own homes,” Jahre says.

Monoclonal antibodies, granted emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, block the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells.

Infusion has been found to be effective in preventing the need for hospitalization in select, higher-risk patients, including those who are 65 years of age or older and whose infection, identified early, does not yet require supplemental oxygen.

Patients who want to be treated with bamlanivimab may schedule an appointment after receiving a prescription from a St. Luke’s primary care physician or through a St. Luke’s CareNow walk-in center or emergency room. Supplies, dictated by the state, could be subject to limitations.

“St. Luke’s has been able to bring this exciting new treatment to the Lehigh Valley so quickly thanks to multidisciplinary cooperation across our Network,” says Jahre.

“This kind of teamwork, which in this case involves many individuals from multiple departments, is a hallmark of St. Luke’s can-do culture,” Jahre says.

“A passion for research and innovation has enabled St. Luke’s to deploy new and powerful weapons in the fight against COVID-19, establishing the Network as a leader among health systems nationally,” says Jahre.

Monoclonal antibody infusion is one part of St. Luke’s two-pronged strategy for caring for COVID-19 patients at home.

St. Luke’s also is one of the first health systems worldwide to use Masimo SafetyNet, a cloud-based patient management platform, to help clinicians care for patients remotely.

It works by using a wireless sensor to monitor patients’ vital signs and provide doctors with valuable clinical data that helps to inform difficult treatment decisions such as when to use a ventilator.

Last spring, the St. Luke’s Network deployed Masimo SafetyNet at its hospitals and tested at-home use among COVID-19-postive employees.

Expanded home-use for certain hospital-discharged COVID-19 patients who are not employees is planned to begin in the coming weeks.