City of El Paso Partners with The Hospitals of Providence to Continue COVID Infusion Treatment

Beneficial Pilot Program Surpasses Program Goals

EL PASO, Texas — For nearly four months, the City of El Paso in partnership with the State of Texas, the Border Regional Advisory Council (BorderRAC) and local health providers have successfully administered a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusion treatment to thousands of El Pasoans. El Paso began providing the infusion treatment in late November 2020 to help prevent hospitalizations due to the progress of severe COVID-19 symptoms in high-risk patients.

The City will provide its last infusion treatment on March 31 and will transition the administration of the beneficial treatment to its partner, The Hospitals of Providence. The treatment will take place at The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to lead our community through this pandemic,” said Nicholas Tejeda, Group CEO for The Hospitals of Providence. “This infusion treatment has proven itself to be an effective tool to reduce the severity of symptoms in COVID-19 patients and reduce the need for a hospital stay. As always, we are grateful to the City of El Paso and BorderRAC for their ongoing dedication to the health and well-being of our family, friends and loved ones.”

“We are very pleased with the pilot program that the City of El Paso helped initiate at the local level,” said Wanda Helgesen, Executive Director for BorderRAC. “As of Friday, March 26, the program successfully administered 2,211 infusion treatments to our community members battling COVID-19, and we are extraordinarily grateful to The Hospitals of Providence for their prompt willingness to ensure our residents are able to continue getting this treatment.”

Monoclonal antibody infusion treatment is intended for COVID-19 patients who meet the following criteria:

• COVID-19 positive
• Non-hospitalized adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older
• Mild to moderate symptoms
• Within 10 days of symptom onset

Patients who have received a positive test result for COVID-19 should talk with their doctor or healthcare provider to see if monoclonal antibody infusion treatment is right for them.

For more information on COVID-19 to include testing, data and prevention visit epstrong.org.