ORLANDO, Fla. (August 11, 2021) – GuideWell Emergency Doctors locations across Central Florida are offering monoclonal antibodies treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. The advanced cocktail treatment uses laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses.

Last week, many of the state’s top hospital CEOs joined a roundtable discussion with Governor Ron DeSantis and confirmed the treatment’s success in treating patients, regardless of vaccination status.

More than 15,000 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Florida, with one out of five requiring intensive care. The Florida Hospital Association expects 60% of the state’s hospitals to have critical staffing shortages this week. The latest surge in new cases has resulted in the suspension of elective surgeries, overcrowding, and staff shortages at many health care systems.

“The monoclonal antibodies treatment has shown positive results in helping reduce viral load, which means patients may have milder symptoms and less likelihood of being hospitalized,” said Nicholas Dodaro, M.D., chief medical officer for GuideWell Emergency Doctors. “However, the total treatment and observation time can take several hours – which can be very time-intensive if hospital staff is already stretched thin due to the rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations.”

All GuideWell Emergency Doctors locations are staffed with board-certified emergency medicine physicians to oversee the treatment and care of patients in an outpatient setting. The facilities are also offering drive-up COVID-19 testing for patients.

Monoclonal antibodies treatment has increasingly grown as an alternative option that is best used in the early stages. It was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year in May and can be used for adults and children age 12 and older.

Operated by Crucial Care, GuideWell Emergency Doctors combines the technology and medical personnel associated with a hospital ER and the convenience and low cost of an urgent care clinic. It has three Central Florida locations in Winter Park, Ocoee, and Orlando, with a Kissimmee location opening this fall. All locations operate seven days a week and are staffed with bilingual health professionals.

About GuideWell

GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (GuideWell) is a not-for-profit mutual holding company and the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming health care. The GuideWell organization includes Florida Blue, the leading health insurance company in Florida; GuideWell Health, a portfolio of clinical delivery organizations; GuideWell Connect, a health care consumer marketing, sales, and engagement company; GuideWell Source, a provider of administrative services to state and federal health care programs; PopHealthCare, a leader in risk adjustment and population care management; and WebTPA, a market-leading administrator of self-funded employer health plans. For more information, visit www.guidewell.com.

About Crucial Care

Crucial Care is a medical practice founded in 2007 in Jacksonville, Fla with an innovative model that would transform the emergency care industry to be accessible, affordable, high quality, and more patient-centered. Crucial Care facilities have combined high-quality, compassionate care with the ability to treat high acuity cases that were previously only available in an emergency room. As board-certified emergency physicians with access to all of a patients’ in-network providers, Crucial Care goes beyond the medical services provided by an urgent care clinic. Each location features easy access to board-certified emergency medicine physicians with onsite CT scans, digital X-rays, and laboratories. Each facility is open seven days a week and no appointment is needed.

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Media Contact:

Kimberly Brown

Kimberly.Brown@GuideWell.com

407-639-8135