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Troy Regional continues to provide care to our community and surrounding community members dealing with the Covid-19 virus. While the number of cases locally have decreased, and we are seeing a decrease in our most critical admissions, as a state, Alabama is still leading the country in the positivity rate.

We are seeing some capacity once again in our Intensive Care Unit, which is a welcomed relief to our hospital team. We continue to vaccinate our first responders and other healthcare workers with our allotment of Moderna vaccine.

More than 475 doses have been administered to our healthcare community from Troy Regional alone. Other Healthcare facilities are also giving the vaccine and together, we will complete this task.  Alabama will move into another phase of vaccinations on Monday, February 8, as it begins offering the vaccine to other healthcare personnel, people over 65 and our schoolteachers. Stay tuned for more info as it is available.

Research is ongoing to perfect the vaccine for COVID-19 19 and to find treatment and prevention options.  One such drug, Bamlanivimab, or “Bam”, has received emergency clearance from the FDA to be used to fight COVID-19.  We are currently using this new drug at Troy Regional Medical Center and have administered 30 doses by IV infusion lasting an hour with an additional hour of monitoring the patient.  All 30 patients that received this infusion were able to avoid the need for hospitalization. This is a complete game changer for our hospital and hospitals around the country. To help patients avoid admission to a facility by simply receiving this infusion is a great step in creating the much-needed hospital capacity I spoke about earlier.   

The criteria to receive the BAM infusion is very specific. The patient must have tested positive for COVID 19 and are within a 10-day window of symptom onset.  The patient must also be at high risk of becoming very sick from COVID with a high probability of hospitalization. High risk patients include anyone with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of greater than 35 (your doctor would be able to determine this calculation), chronic kidney disease, diabetes, immunosuppressive disease; those receiving immunosuppressive medications, and those 65 years old or older. Younger patients can receive the infusion as well if they meet other specific criteria. Please consult your healthcare provider for complete evaluation.

At Troy Regional, we are committed to your health and wellness. We appreciate the continued community support and promise to do our best to provide the newest and most advanced treatments as they become available.

In the meantime, you can help:

Wear your mask,

Wash your hands,

Watch your distance and please be willing to take the vaccine.

Rick E. Smith, FACHE

Chief Executive Officer

Troy Regional Medical Center