Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital Administers 3000th Monoclonal Antibody Treatment For COVID-19

The Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital (BCCFH) recently administered its 3000th monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment for COVID-19, a milestone for the lifesaving treatment and part of the hospital's multipronged fight against the pandemic.

"When I got to the infusion center, they started the process of processing me in and everyone knew what they were supposed to do and how to do it and they just executed it, in my humble opinion, very flawlessly," said Constance Taylor, a 67-year-old woman from the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., who received the 3,000th mAb treatment.

The BCCFH, operated as a public-private partnership by the Maryland Department of Health, the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and Johns Hopkins Medicine, opened in March 2020 as a 250-bed capacity field hospital to treat COVID-19 positive patients. The BCCFH later added testing, vaccination and mAb treatment to its services. The site's inpatient operations closed in June 2021. The mAb treatments are now being provided by the BCCFH at the University of Maryland Medical Center's Modular Care Unit, a separate clinical space across the street from the downtown hospital.

The BCCFH has been administering monoclonal antibody treatment since the therapy received U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization last November for treatment of mild to moderate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients like Taylor who have underlying health conditions that put them at risk of developing severe illness. The medications have now also been authorized to be given as post-exposure-prophylaxis (PEP) to certain high-risk patients who have had a close contact exposure to someone who has COVID. The BCCFH started providing mAb for PEP this month.

"A monoclonal antibody is an immune protein that is manufactured in a laboratory by the pharmaceutical companies and is designed to bind to a specific receptor in the body to help prevent worsening of symptoms and decreases the risk of hospitalization and death," said Mary Ghaffari, Pharm.D., BCPS, DPLA, Director of UMMS Clinical Pharmacy Services.

While not a substitute for vaccination, monoclonal antibody therapies have been used to treat diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders since the mid 1990s. Dr. Ghaffari said the antibodies used to treat COVID-19 patients work by latching onto the virus' spike protein, the part of the virus that infects humans, and reinforcing the human body's own immune response.

Taylor said her COVID symptoms included fatigue, heavy sweating, a dry cough and a diminished sense of smell.

"I didn't know what to expect. When I was diagnosed, my test came back positive for COVID," she said. "I had been vaccinated and I said, 'What else is out there that could possibly be useful or helpful for me?'"

Taylor asked her doctor for a referral to the BCCFH after her husband was referred there following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

She said she was thrilled by how quick and relatively painless the process was. "They took the time to answer questions. I didn't feel there was something I couldn't ask them."

She barely felt the needle go in and, after 35 minutes of infusion and an hour of observation, Taylor was on her way. She is already back to enjoying regular walks and gardening.

Over the past 11 months, the BCCFH has accounted for roughly one-fifth of the more than 14,000 patients infused with mAb in Maryland. It is believed that the treatments helped avoid 700 hospitalizations and nearly 300 deaths.

The drugs, obtained from the federal government, are administered free of charge, one of several ways health equity is addressed, said Sophia Purekal, MD, Medical Director of the COVID Infusion Center, which also offers transportation to any patient who needs it and telehealth services to help underserved patients self-refer for treatment.

"Our patients never get a bill from us, not for telehealth, not for treatment, nothing," Dr. Purekal said.

Clinicians are preparing for the possibility of an increasing demand for care through the fall and winter months. "We are anticipating the possibility that there may be one more major surge of COVID in the winter of 2021 and 2022,” said Charles Callahan, DO, Vice President of Population Health at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Director of the BCCFH. "That means more individuals who will need monoclonal antibody infusion and potentially more patients hospitalized with COVID, despite our best efforts."

The BCCFH is the longest-running convention center COVID alternate care site (ACS) in the U.S. The field hospital cared for 1,945 inpatients from April 2020 until June 2021, the longest uninterrupted inpatient service of any comparable site, and evolved and broadened its scope to focus on additional COVID related public health efforts.

Clinicians have conducted more than 115,000 COVID tests and administered more than 124,000 vaccinations at the site. The BCCFH has carried out more tests and monoclonal infusions than any other site in the state of Maryland.

More information about monoclonal antibody therapy services at the BCCFH is available at https://www.umms.org/coronavirus/fighting-covid/expanded-clinical-locations/baltimore-convention-center/infusion-center-patients.

Besides availability in downtown Baltimore, UMMS also administers monoclonal antibody therapy treatments at UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, UM Shore Regional Health at Easton, the UM Laurel 3-4-5 Alternative Care Site in Prince George's County, UM Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata and via UM Medical Solutions Home Infusion Services. UMMS has three available mAb treatment options for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk populations.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland, bringing innovation, discovery and research to the care we provide and educating the state's future physician and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore professional schools (Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry) in Baltimore. As one of the largest private employers in the State, the health system's more than 29,500 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations, including 13 hospitals and 9 University of Maryland Urgent Care centers. The UMMS flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. Our acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban and rural communities and are located in 13 counties across the State. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

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