The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 42 COVID patients today, down from 46 yesterday. Other significant numbers:

• 21 with the active virus today, down from 26 yesterday
• 4 in ICU, same as yesterday
• 0 on a ventilator, down from 1 yesterday
• 21 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, down from 20 yesterday

Key points from today’s guests:

Dr. David Smith, sports medicine, The University of Kansas Health System

• We are always learning from our experts at the NFL who continue to study concussion and head injuries.  
• Prevention is a priority -- teaching youth how to tackle properly and not to use the head as a weapon. Good helmets and replacing helmets at the high school level is very important.
• The Guardian cap is a soft shell that can be put on the helmet to help reduce some of the impact force to the brain. Some NFL data has shown that there can be up to a 10 to 33 percent reduction in individual brain impact.
• I've watched concussion treatment, evaluation, treatment, and prevention evolve and I have never felt the pressure lately from coaching staffs to try to push someone back out there when I feel like they shouldn’t be playing.
• We all need to work together so we all have the same vision of the health and safety of the student-athlete.
• The Sway Test is a new tool we’ve been using via cell phones to help monitor for and treat and concussion issues.

Myles Wilcox, athletic trainer, Blue Valley North High School

• The way the Sway Test works is it can be utilized in the athletic training room for baseline testing, on the sideline for post injury testing, or in the clinic.
• The provider creates a code and sends a code to the athlete, and the athlete can download the application on their phone, punch in that code, and then do the tests that we've already set up for them to do.
• It takes the subjectivity out of assessing a concussion, and it puts more objectivity into it.
• It uses basically the technology in your phone to monitor multiple things like balance, impulse control, reaction, memory, and more.

Doug Weisner, program director, Youth Sports Medicine, The University of Kansas Health System

• The Sway Test is more efficient for the training staff. For one athletic trainer for about 500 student-athletes this past fall, it can be easier to track.
• With our previous product, if we had two or 300 of those baseline tests done in a year that was good for us.
• We now have over 2,000 of these baseline sway tests done in the fall sports season alone.
• This is great news for student-athletes and parents.

Will Van Zon, Blue Valley North High School student-athlete

• I do believe that putting safety first is important for our players and coaches.
• As a student, I find Sway Test extremely convenient because I don't have to go into the doctor's office to do a test, I can just do it in my room or in dark environments.
• The technology makes the whole process go a lot smoother.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• We've seen a massive increase in RSV in not just kids but, also adults.
• From four weeks ago, there was a steady trend up overall in the number of admissions for influenza, so that that is concerning.
• Our trends, unfortunately, at the Health System are consistent with the national trends of increasing rates, increasing numbers, and hospitalizations.
• It remains critical to get your vaccinations and boosters.

Monday, November 7 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. You’ll meet a man who had a devastating stage 4 stomach cancer diagnosis. But now he’s being called a miracle thanks to a new treatment. His doctors will explain how it works and why it’s offering hope to others facing the same diagnosis.

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