Regional Infusion Center Assists Patients Throughout North Texas

Partnerships among different organizations typically benefit many people, but when it comes to individuals health and the ability to provide the care the community needs, one area partnership arrived at the perfect time.

This September, a Regional Infusion Center opened at Collin Colleges McKinney Campus to help treat COVID-19 patients in North Texas. Collin County, Collin College, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), Baylor Scott & White Health, and the North Central Texas Regional Advisory Council joined forces to create the Regional Infusion Center, which aimed to lessen the burden on local health care providers and facilities.

The state-supported infusion center includes personnel, equipment, supplies, and wraparound services for a 10-chair Regional Infusion Center. Medical professionals administer monoclonal antibody treatments. Patients are monitored after the infusion before being sent home to recuperate. The infusions are meant for COVID-19 patients who were not yet hospitalized or on oxygen supplements. The treatment is available at no cost to patients.

According to Greg Rushin, Plano deputy city manager, the Regional Infusion Center provides a location in Collin County for monoclonal antibodies to reduce the symptoms of COVID-19, which allows patients to remain home through the virus and reduce the strain on hospitals.

I had a breakthrough COVID-19 case and was very sick, Rushin said. My doctor recommended that I use the Collin County infusion center. Having a resource like this locally is so appreciated when you are sick. The registration was very easy, and within a half hour of arriving I was receiving an infusion that helped me through my illness.

Partnerships, such as this, are vital to provide therapeutics, which reduce the strain on our hospitals and help our citizens better fight COVID-19. This collaborative effort is a shining star in Collin County.

Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin couldnt agree more.

We are proud to have provided a location for area residents to receive much needed health care, Dr. Matkin said. We are grateful to our many partners and those who provide treatment at our McKinney Campus Conference Center. They set a fine example for students in our health care programs, many of whom are taking classes at this very campus.

According to Kevin Starbuck, TDEM assistant chief for Region 1, local partners brought the center to fruition by submitting a request for the establishment of the Regional Infusion Center to TDEM. Key personnel from each partner organization met to collaborate on the right approach to help the community through the expanded availability of monoclonal antibodies administered at the infusion center.

Our Collin College partners jumped into action straightaway, Starbuck said. From communications to facilities resources, Collin College leadership worked with local and state partners to quickly establish the Regional Infusion Center as an additional tool for the community to treat COVID-19.

Starbuck said the relationship between the Texas Division of Emergency Management and local partners is invaluable.

Activating the Regional Infusion Center in Collin County allowed patients to receive expedient treatment in response to COVID-19, while also easing the strain on area hospitals, Starbuck added. By receiving infusions at the Collin College facility quickly after diagnosis, hospital resources could be used for people with more severe medical needs. The medical teams at the Regional Infusion Center administered more than 3,400 infusions from early September to mid-November.

According to Starbuck, the activation of a Regional Infusion Center is designed to be an augmentation to local health care due to the surge of persons needing care overloading resources.

As we have seen numbers come down and healthcare capacity returns to a sustainable level, we look to demobilize the Regional Infusion Centers, returning those services to local healthcare to manage.The Regional Infusion Center at Collin College will be demobilized in December.