The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 51 COVID patients today, 52 yesterday. Other significant numbers:

• 30 with the active virus today, 32 yesterday
• 7 in ICU, 7 yesterday
• 2 on a ventilator, 2 yesterday

Key points from today’s guests:

Dr. Vincent Key, medical director & head team physician, Kansas City Royals

• The pitch clock rules were instituted in the minor leagues last year, so from a major league level, it's going to be a first and it will speed up the game.
• From a health perspective, it keeps the game moving in terms of them not being able to sit between innings, but Dr. Key doesn’t believe it will really affect the overall health of a pitcher’s shoulder and elbow.
• For younger players who want to pitch with the high velocity of major league pitchers, the big thing is the torque. It's not natural to throw a baseball. So there is there's a lot of peak force being torqued in the arm when you're throwing a baseball, so that is a lot of stress.
• Everyone just really concentrates on the on the elbow, but a lot of times when you have injuries, the elbow is really a victim of everything else not being right.
• It's imperative to get all those other things right, whether it be the shoulder, the shoulder blade, the core, the lower half, because most people don't understand to be able to throw a baseball at the velocity that these guys are throwing, players have to really have a strong core.
• Any athletes get the same type of top sports medicine care as the Royals players do at The University of Kansas Health System.

Kyle Turner, head athletic trainer, Kansas City Royals

• With “pre-hab,” Kyle looks at the need to have a good balance and mobility and strength, along with the health -- all play a very important role in how players recover in between starts or in between outings.
• Technology has evolved to help provide players with the best treatments possible.
• With any athlete, Kyle sets up realistic expectations for injury recovery.
• Every injury comes with a timeline and the expectations are communicated up front so athletes know what to expect along the way and it helps guide them through the process.
• For younger pitchers who want to throw faster pitches, they should not overdo it – they need to build up their strength gradually.

Josh Taylor, pitcher, Kansas City Royals

• “After a year I had, they (athletic training staff) mean everything to me. They're just the support system that you need and they're the people that you need to make sure you're performing at your top capability. All of them are always willing to help with open arms. So they're incredible.”
  
  

Matt Quatraro, manager, Kansas City Royals

• “Those guys (athletic training staff) are the backbone and they keep the guys out on the field. Their work is invaluable and it goes often goes unnoticed. These guys work as hard as anybody and they have the most education of anybody in that room too. So you respect a lot of what they do.”
  
  

Tyler Tolbert, shortstop, Kansas City Royals

• “They (athletic training staff) keep me on the field. They do a great job getting us getting us ready each day -- recovery, working out things, soft tissue. They really are the magic workers that make us play every day.”

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, The University of Kansas Health System

• The CDC shared some new numbers yesterday showing maternal mortality spiked during the worst of the COVID pandemic.
• Deaths connected to pregnancy or childbirth jumped nearly 60 percent between 2019 and 2021.
• Unfortunately, we understand that the hardest hit communities are those with the highest discrepancies in the access to care right now.
• We need to continue to help improve the public health and the medical infrastructure so that we can give access to everybody that needs it, especially those young mothers in specific communities.

Monday, March 20 is the next Morning Medical Update. We check in on the “Superglue Baby.” Nine years after a newborn’s brain bleed was solved by “superglue” and made global headlines, find out how the family is doing today.

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