TAMPA, Fla. — The coronavirus pandemic has put a dent in how safe we feel indoors. To help relieve some of that anxiety Moffitt Cancer Center has launched a new program, allowing patients to get some services curbside. The beauty in this, is you don’t even have to get out of your car.
This new program is being offered at the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Outpatient Center. The cancer center says the idea was inspired by a similar program set up at Johns Hopkins earlier this year in Baltimore.
The curbside service is appreciated by many patients who’ve already taken advantage of it, like Michele Wicks. She’s used it twice now.
“My nurse recommended it to me, and I’m so glad she did,” Wicks said.
Wicks was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer nearly four years ago. Ever since, she’s been receiving treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center.
When she heard the cancer center had a new way to receive her non-chemotherapy treatments faster and easier without ever stepping out of her car, she was eager to try it out.
“They take your vitals right there in the car, and it’s so much easier than going inside, checking in, getting your temperature checked and then walking to the clinic,” Wicks said.
If you’re a patient who prefer to stay out of crowded or indoor spaces this may be the option for you. And Wicks says it’s also a time saver.
“The whole experience was about 10 to 15 minutes,” Wicks said.
“The goal was to provide an alternate location where ordered treatments could be administered,” said Heather Morgan, director of infusion services and blood draw services at Moffitt’s McKinley campus.
“Curbside clinic provides patients with that additional location option that will help to alleviate their anxieties by eliminating the need to come inside,” Morgan said.
Moffitt Cancer Center is the only health care organization in Florida offering this unique way to receive treatment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This innovative alternative is geared towards making it easier for patients to receive their ongoing treatment while encouraging social distancing, providing convenience and maintaining best practices.
Morgan says this new service could potentially benefit thousands of patients who are eligible.
There are a select number of treatments offered. The medications available curbside do not include any form of chemotherapy but are injectables that support patients throughout chemotherapy treatments.
Treatments Offered at the Curbside Clinic
Injections:
- Aranesp (Darbepoietin Alfa)
- Eligard (Leuprolide Acetate)
- Fragmin (Dalteparin)
- Lovenox (Enoxaparin)
- Neulasta/ Neulasta Onpro OBI (Pegfilgrastim)
- Neupogen (Filgrastim)
- Pegasys (Peginterferon Alfa-2A)
- Procrit (Epoetin Alfa)
- Prolia (Denosumab) – q 6 months
- Xgeva (Denosumab) – q 4 weeks
- Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocabalamin)
Other:
- Continuous Infusion (CI) CADD Pump Disconnect with/without subsequent placement of a Neulasta OBI)
Additional offerings phase II
Vaccines for Splenectomy/Asplenia:
- Prevnar 13. (Pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine)
- Haemophilus b conjugate (PRP-T vaccine)
- Bexsero (Meningococcal group B vaccine)
- Menveo (Meningococcal conjugate vaccine)
- Pneumovax 23 (Pneumococcal 23- polyvalent vaccine)
Peripheral lab draws for patients on active treatment:
- Pre-chemo/Treatment peripheral labs
- Injections in combination with peripheral labs
Other:
- Port Flushes (pending – Phase III)
*ONLY when the administration of those injections is not dependent on results of the labs being drawn at that same Curbside Clinic visit.
*Peripheral lab draws only (there has not been a method established that would allow the clinician to maintain an aseptic field on which to lay dressings/flushes, etc.)
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