A health care system in South Jersey is hoping to keep hospital beds open by providing a treatment for COVID-19 patients that will help keep them home.

Cherry Hil resident Jay Siegmeister is a COVID-19 survivor thanks to a new outpatient therapy at Virtua Health. The treatment known as Bamlan/Vimab is a monoclonal antibody treatment administered through an infusion.

“Normally the bodies form its own antibodies but sometimes that’s delayed when fighting off COVID-19 and we really need that early push on the antibodies,” says Dr. Martin Topiel, chief of Infectious Diseases at Virtua Health. “This monoclonal antibody provides that and hopefully stops the symptoms very early.”

Siegmeister says he felt better the next day and made a full recovery within a week.

The FDA approved the treatment in early December. Since then, Virtua officials say they’ve treated about 145 patients.

To qualify for the treatment, a patient must have mild or moderate symptoms and a qualifying risk factor such as diabetes, obesity or an immunosuppressive disease.