Nobody should have to travel long distances to receive excellent healthcare.

Traveling for care is taxing, especially when it’s for care the patient needs on a frequent basis, such as chemotherapy. Not feeling well due to infusion-related side effects simply adds to the difficulty of a long drive. Prowers Medical Center lessens this burden for community members by offering high-quality infusion therapy services in Lamar.

“Our goal is to care for the patient close to home so they don’t have to drive to larger cities to receive infusion therapy services,” said Shelby Warn, Infusion Therapy Registered Nurse (RN) at Prowers Medical Center.

Tracy Williams, RN, also provides infusion services at Prowers Medical Center.

“I have really enjoyed working in Infusion Therapy with Shelby [Warn],” she said. “It has been wonderful to build relationships with our patients. I am proud that we can provide a safe, comfortable environment for their care.”

About Infusion Therapy Services

Prowers Medical Center coordinates with regional oncologists and other providers to administer infusions for local patients. Once an order is sent to the infusion center, coordination with the authorization department promptly occurs to ensure insurance authorization is obtained.

“We understand how daunting it is for patients to travel for these services,” Warn said. “Some patients are required to come in on a weekly basis — if they had to travel to a larger city to get these services, they may not be as compliant, or the traveling may put a physical and financial toll on them. We do what we can to work with the providers to ensure their patients’ needs are met.”

Some patients are under the care of Dr. Robert Hoyer, an oncologist with UCHealth’s Cancer Center at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. He visits the Specialty Clinic at Prowers Medical Center once a month for four days at a time to see patients from Lamar and surrounding communities. He is also available via telemedicine to provide follow-up care in between his visits to Lamar.

Types of Services Offered

The Prowers Medical Center Infusion Therapy team provides the following services:

  • Blood and Blood Product Transfusions
  • Antibiotics
  • Chemotherapy
  • Hydration Therapy
  • Iron Infusions
  • Injections
  • Port Maintenance
  • Biological Agents for RA, Lupus, Crohn’s Disease and Other Autoimmune Disorders
  • Osteoporosis Treatments
  • Education on Medications and Self-care

“To help meet every patient’s needs, we are open to receiving calls from surrounding area providers,” Warn explained. “Some out-of-town providers are not aware of the infusion services provided at our hospital; we encourage them to call and ask if the drug needed is something that we can offer at Prowers Medical Center.”

The Infusion Therapy staff at Prowers Medical Center works with patients to ensure their treatments never get off schedule.

“Our cancer patients tend to be on a set schedule — usually needing treatment every 7, 14 or 21 days — so we work closely with our oncologists to coordinate the infusion orders for their treatments,” Warn said.

Schedule an Appointment

Infusion therapy is provided from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by scheduled appointment.

“We are always working as quickly as we can to get patients scheduled,” Warn said. “If your provider has sent an order but you have not heard from us, don’t hesitate to give us a call and verify that we have received the order.”

She added: “We don’t stock every drug available; they are generally ordered as patients are scheduled.”

Infusion therapy has two rooms in its department. Please feel confident that we take the health and safety of our patients very seriously and are committed to safe infection prevention practices. The rooms have comfortable recliners, soft lighting and television, and the open concept gives patients the option of keeping to themselves or chatting with those around them.

“A lot of our patients already know each other, and if they don’t, they enjoy meeting a new neighbor,” Warn said. “It’s nice to have a small community where people care about each other.”

For more information on infusion therapy at Prowers Medical Center, visit prowersmedical.com or call Shelby Warn or Tracy Williams at 719-336-6743.