South Triangle News

Campbell University issued the following announcement on Sept. 3.

In keeping with its mission to meet the health care needs of rural and underserved communities, Campbell’s Mobile Health and Education Clinics traveled this week to support Erlanger Wester Carolina Hospital (EWCH) in providing monoclonal antibody therapy to patients battling COVID-19.

The Mobile Health and Education Clinics (MHECs) were funded by the COVID Recovery Grant — passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2020 and now managed by the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office.  The MHECs are already proving to be indispensable to fulfilling Campbell’s mission through their weekly use by the Community Care Clinic to provide health exams and vaccinations in Harnett County and neighboring communities.  On its farthest trek from Buies Creek, the MHEC will be utilized by EWCH for additional treatment space.

“We are working to expand our influence in healthcare delivery throughout rural North Carolina.   As the pandemic continues, partnering with our friends at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Murphy is exactly the type of assistance we knew rural communities needed in such times, and we are honored to come alongside them and put the MHEC unit to work,” said Dr. Britt Davis, vice-president for institutional advancement at Campbell. 

As Governor Roy Cooper recently highlighted, Monoclonal antibody therapy has been available through an FDA emergency use authorization since November 2020.  NCDHHS Sec. Mandy Cohen also mentioned the low usage of the treatment earlier this month, but Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital has been using the infusions, especially for high-risk COVID-positive patients, and looks forward to using the Campbell mobile clinic as an infusion center.

This week, Campbell Medicine faculty conducted training for hospital clinical and facilities staff while the clinic was prepared by the hospital for patient care.  The clinic features two patient exam rooms with their own closed HVAC and UV lighting.  There are also internal and external TV monitors that will provide patients education while they wait to receive the treatment.  Campbell also provided additional PPE.

Mr. Bob Schmid, technical director of the simulation center at Campbell complimented the efficiency of the setup.

“Within minutes of our arrival, we had the 40-foot MHEC setup and connected to power and water.  The nursing and operations staff were oriented to all of the resources of the MHEC and developed a plan to implement the expanded treatment capacity.  The facilities and clinical teams at EWCH were a pleasure to work with and made this initiative a success.”

“I am so happy we were able to support the efforts to care for people in Cherokee County,” said Matt Huff, associate DIO and Director of Post-Graduate Affairs at Campbell.  “Hospital Staff and providers are exhausted, and we hope this resource will help to alleviate suffering and prevent hospitalization where possible. We are so grateful for the support of the North Carolina legislature and pandemic recovery office for making these resources available to deploy.  It is such a privilege for our University to be a part of helping communities across our state.” 

Teresa Bowleg, MSN, Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital shared Erlanger’s thanks for Campbell’s assistance in meeting an immediate need.

“We are very thankful that when Matt heard that EWCH needed assistance, he immediately reached out to ask how Campbell could help. We felt the best way to help our residents and the communities we serve was to increase administration availability of monoclonal antibodies, Matt immediately suggested the Mobile Health and Education Clinic could be used as an infusion clinic to expand our capacity. We are so thankful to have partners such as Campbell University.”

Patients are required to make an appointment and have physician’s orders to receive the monoclonal antibody treatment.

The mobile clinic will be open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Original source can be found here.